


Nightwing: Project Silverbird

by FreedomWhistle



Series: The Story of Reese Michaels [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Dinah Lance is Black Canary, F/M, I promise, Jason Todd is Robin, Jealous Dick Grayson, Lauren can glow, Protective Dick Grayson, Reese Michaels is Silverbird/Silver X, at least seven chapters by the end, but I thought I'd put the warning in anyway, don't know how much yet, it's also longer, it's not graphic, this is better than the first book
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2019-08-07 17:42:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 149,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16412963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreedomWhistle/pseuds/FreedomWhistle
Summary: Thirteen months after Reese leaves Gotham, a seventeen-year-old Dick Grayson heads to Nepal to bring her back. But, when their return to the city is met with a seedy undercover operation, assassins, the fact that Reese's shifting powers are disappearing, and some dark family secrets, Reese and Dick realize that they may be in over their heads.With the romantic tension between them growing, will Nightwing and Silver X be able to defeat the various enemies that hide in Gotham's shadows, or will everything fall apart?





	1. Prologue...Kidnapped

**Gotham City, September 16th, 21:00 EDT**

The two figures in padded bodysuits sprinted through the back areas of Gotham City, using rooftops and fire escapes, all the while putting more distance between them and their pursuers. Six men, all wearing black suits and carrying lethal looking weapons. 

One of the fleeing figures, a girl of about six months from eighteen, grasped the metal rung of a fire escape ladder and lifted herself up with the grace of a gymnast, then leaned back and helped her companion scramble over the edge.

"Don't you think this all could've been avoided if you'd just  _not_ pissed off the Sporellis' prime cocaine buyer?" The girl hissed as she quickly dodged a bullet aimed for her head. The boy next to her, about the same age, but just a few months older, laughed quietly to himself.

"Come on, Silver. As if you weren't thinking the same thing," Silver X, well, Silverbird now, skidded to a stop on the edge of a particularly tall building and glanced over the side for a moment before turning back around.

"Of course I was, Nightwing!" Silverbird cried, taking out a bow and nocking an arrow as she did so. "I just have enough impulse control to  _not_ make rash decisions like blowing our whole cover in front of the deadliest crime bosses in the country!" Silverbird let the arrow fly and the projectile lodged in the side of a building across the street. Reese secured the other end, then held her gloved hand out to Nightwing, who rolled his eyes behind his domino mask before taking it.

Silverbird hooked her bow around the new zip line as Nightwing wrapped his arms loosely around her neck. Reese rolled her eyes.

"Nightwing, you're going to have to hang on tighter than that. We'll be on the line for a good 1,000 feet," Dick Grayson shook his head.

"I just don't want to choke you." Silverbird shook her head fondly.

"Dick, you're my boyfriend. We've sparred in the cave often enough and hard enough that neither of us comes out anymore without a few bruises. I'll be fine." Nightwing still looked skeptical, but the arrival of four of the six goons to the roof prevented him from arguing anymore. Silverbird looked back for a minute before flipping up the silver hood on her back and grabbing the edges of her bow.

"Ready?" she asked, and Nightwing rolled his eyes again. He swore Reese was going to be the death of him.

"Do I have a choice?" He couldn't see Silverbird's face because of her hood, but he knew that Reese was smirking.

"Nope." The head goon started yelling at them the next moment.

"È Nightwing e Silverbird! Maledetti vigilantes, prendili!"  _It's Nightwing and Silverbird! Damn vigilantes, get them!_ Silverbird stepped onto the ledge of the building, glanced over her shoulder one more time, then launched herself and Nightwing off the building and away from the Italian traffickers, who still tried to shoot them out of the sky, even though they were already out of range.

As Nightwing and Silverbird rolled to a stop on the tarmac-covered roof of a Wayne Tech building(ironic), a large-built Italian man was still shouting profanities at them from 1,500 feet away.

"Do I want to know what he's saying?" Nightwing asked. He and Silverbird had already both been fluent in Italian before Reese went undercover, but she had gone a step further and learned Italian swearing as well.

"No," Silverbird answered simply as she opened the roof's door in order to go down into the building. Surprisingly, they weren't met with any of the security guards Bruce Wayne normally had on duty during the night hours. Apparently, Nightwing noticed as well.

"Where is everybody?" Dick asked as they neared the entrance. Reese could see a small crowd gathered outside, and she gestured towards it.

"Maybe they're out there?" Nightwing glanced at her.

"You know, sometimes I don't know when you're being sincere or sarcastic." Reese just smirked at him and stepped out of the skyscraper to see what everyone was standing out there for. When the people saw her and Dick standing there, they all crowded around the two vigilantes, asking questions a mile a minute that neither Silverbird nor Nightwing could catch. Reese quickly held up her hands in an attempt to slow the few reporters there down.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, first of all, back up a bit, Silverbird needs her space. Second of all, what's going on here?" A reporter from the Gotham Gazette looked at her quizzically.

"You mean you haven't heard about the kidnapping?" he asked. Nightwing stepped forward, his mask lenses narrowed.

"What kidnapping?" he asked slowly. The reporter gasped.

"Why the kidnapping of Jason Todd and Lauren Michaels of course!" Both Silverbird and Nightwing froze. Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne's younger ward, and Dick's adoptive brother, and Lauren Michaels, Reese's kid sister,  _kidnapped_? The reporter suddenly shoved a scrap of paper into Reese's shaking hands.

** Find the bird and shield before it's too late. I'd hate for there to be another 'incident', wouldn't you? Don't take your time, Nightwing and Silverbird. You have until midnight to meet me at the Gotham Docks before there'll be two more bodies to add to the Gotham Morgue's list. Come alone. Oh, and Dick? Don't bother trying to trace the serial number on the back of this card. You won't find anything. Reese? I always enjoyed your company. Shame it'll be over so soon, isn't it? Well, ciao for now...Sincerely, Guiliano Sporelli  **

Silverbird's hands shook with fear, and Nightwing's with anger, just as another Gotham vigilante stepped out of the shadows. Batman cast an intimidating shadow as everyone gathered suddenly took two large steps back, but Dick and Reese stayed put.

"What happened?" he asked. Nightwing gently took the note from Silverbird's fingers and handed it to the Dark Knight. As he skimmed the paper, Bruce Wayne's cowl lenses grew thinner and thinner until they were little more than white slits. After he was done, Batman looked up towards Silverbird and Nightwing.

"Go," he growled. "I'll call Batgirl and we'll wait as the backup a safe distance away so we won't be detected." Nightwing nodded confirmation, seeing as how Silverbird was still in shock. 

"Silverbird?" Dick asked quietly once everyone else dispersed and Bruce left to find Barbara. When Reese didn't react, Nightwing tried again.

"Silver? Come on Argent. I can't have you zone out on me now. Lauren needs you," That seemed to snap Reese from her thoughts and she glanced up at Dick fearfully. After a moment, tears started to run down her cheeks. Nightwing gently swiped them away and smiled softly at her.

"Shh," he said softly, bringing Silverbird into a comforting embrace, her head tucked into his leather-clad chest. "It'll be okay, Silverbird. We'll save them, I promise." Dick didn't know how long they stood there, drinking in the other's warmth before Reese finally leaned away and caught his gaze.

"You're sure we'll save them?" she asked, and Dick nodded, even though he wasn't entirely sure about it himself. "Okay then," Silverbird said, confidence beginning to leak back into her voice. "Let's go save our siblings," As she walked over to where their cycles were parked, Nightwing stared after her before a sly smirk graced his lips. 

This was going to be fun.

**Gotham Docks, Gotham City; September 16th, 21:50 EDT**

The docks looked like they were deserted, but Silverbird and Nightwing knew better than that. As he and Reese walked slowly up to a lone warehouse, Dick caught sight of two black capes fluttering off to the side in his peripheral vision. Reese probably didn't need to, but she flipped her hood up, concealing her face, and drew her bow. Nightwing took out his eskrima sticks and held them carefully at his sides, ready for anything.

"Ah, look who it is!" An Italian-accented voice called out, and Dick felt his blood boil. "My favorite person in the whole entire world, Silverbird! Or is it, Reese Michaels? Celeste Ricci?" Guiliano was abruptly cut off when a silver and black arrow sprouted from the wooden wall two inches from his head.

"Shut.  _Up_." Reese growled as she jumped down from the rafters where she and Nightwing had been standing. Guiliano seemed startled for a moment before a sneer grew on his filthy face. He turned around and tugged the arrow from its spot next to his head. He gently tapped a finger against the point, flinched, and turned to Silverbird.

"Obsidian-Tungsten alloy?" he asked innocently, walking slowly forward, causing Nightwing to grit his teeth. That guy would chase anything in a skirt, even his own sister if he could, but Reese was off-limits. Guiliano stopped a few inches from Silverbird,  _way_ too close in Dick's opinion, and gently pushed the hood back on her head, revealing Reese's scowling face.

"Where's my  _sister_?" Reese bit out, and Guiliano tsked in disapproval as he ran his fingers down the side of her face, and Dick clenched his fists, watching as Reese shuddered in disgust.

"Tsk, Tsk, little Reese. Where would I hide your sister in a warehouse like this? I would much rather hide her in a public place, say, the site of the Coast City Power Plant, perhaps?" Silverbird had tensed when Sporelli called her 'little Reese'. Only one person had ever called Silverbird that, and he'd been locked up in Arkham for almost five months. Nightwing suddenly dropped from the rafters and pressed a single eskrima stick against the Italian man's windpipe and practically threw him against the wall.

"Where did you hear that name?" Dick shouted in rage, as Reese stood in complete fear behind him. Sporelli just cackled in response.

"I should've known that the Silverbird wouldn't be here without her Nightwing. Do you  _really_ think that nobody found out about the girl that was kidnapped from her hotel in Coast City? How Kid Flash and Aqualad were spotted going through her stuff? Luke Racer was a friend of mine. Shame what happened to him, you know. Killed by the League of Shadows, they said, in Mount Justice. Don't suppose you'd know anything about that, would you,  _Silver X_?" Nightwing pressed down harder on Sporelli's windpipe, and the man's face began to turn purple.

"Silver X is dead," Reese began stepping closer and stabbed another arrow into the wall. "That part of my past is dead. Now, there is only Silverbird," After she was done with her monologue, Silverbird leaned even closer to Sporelli's face, and Dick could see the precise moment that Guiliano began to sweat.

"Now," Reese began again. "Where, are Jason Todd and my sister?" Sporelli seemed like he was debating with himself about whether to answer or not, but he eventually relented, and Nightwing wasn't surprised in the least. Not many could survive a Silverbird interrogation.

"They're in a shipping container. Number A-90476." Reese smiled.

"Now, was that so hard?" she asked, and nodded at Nightwing, signaling that it was okay to let Sporelli go. As the man rubbed his red throat with one hand, Silverbird walked over to the shipping container in question and quickly broke the flimsy padlock Guiliano had used as a barrier. Inside were two small bundles, each curled up on a thin mattress. It was Jason and Lauren. As Reese walked inside, she was instantly bombarded with two pre-teen bodies, one feminine, the other more masculine.

"I knew you'd rescue us!" Lauren cried, her body starting to glow a faint gold. "When the man took us, Jason said that Nightwing and Silverbird would stop at nothing to find us. Did you?" Reese nodded fondly at her sister as she began to lead them out.

"Yes," she said quietly. "We did. Batman and Batgirl as well. They're waiting outside for you," A smug voice from outside the shipping container made Reese stop dead in her tracks and her blood freeze.

"I'm sorry, did you say 'Batman and Batgirl are outside'? I thought I specifically told you and Nightwing to come alone," Sporelli stood outside the container, a cruel sneer twisting his features. Behind him, Silverbird could see Nightwing standing, shocked and terrified. For her safety, and Jason and Lauren's.

"I didn't mean outside  _here_ ," Reese started, desperate to diffuse the situation before it escalated. "I meant they were waiting back in the Batcave and were anxious for us to return," Reese had never been the best liar, as Wally  _constantly_ pointed out, but this time she thought she did pretty good. Alas, it didn't work.

"I think you're lying," Sporelli said, and Silverbird's jaw clenched. "I think Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordon are standing behind shipping container B-64839, waiting for the perfect moment to ambush me and take me to Arkham, where I'll stay for the rest of my life, being experimented on by the deranged doctors who call that monstrosity a workplace. Am I correct?"

To Silverbird's shock, Batman and Batgirl stepped out from behind the precise container that Sporelli had said they'd be behind, looking grim. Sporelli cackled as the two other vigilantes went and stood behind Nightwing, and then Guiliano took a step towards Silverbird, the Golden Guard, and Robin. Silverbird instantly nocked an arrow, Lauren summoned twin balls of golden light to her hands, and Jason whipped out a birdarang.

"Not any closer," Reese hissed out through gritted teeth, Guiliano's smile grew even wider, and Silverbird couldn't help but notice how closely he resembled Jack Napier.

"Don't you think I would have a Plan B?" Sporelli asked, and Reese suddenly heard a very distinctive beeping sound coming from behind them. She slowly turned around to find six packs of plastic explosive taped to the ceiling of the shipping container where Jason and Lauren had been held. And the timer was about to hit zero.

Silverbird whipped around and released her arrow at the counting mechanism just as the bomb exploded, bringing forth a wall of metal and fire that swept through the docks, throwing everyone to the side. Reese was separated from Dick and the others, and she thudded into the base of a pylon, crying out as a jutting piece of metal pierced her abdomen. 

Even though her ears were ringing from the backlash of the explosion, Silverbird could almost hear Nightwing's cry as he caught sight of her, lying impaled on a massive piece of metal. Dick pulled himself up, albeit painfully, and made his way towards her.

"There's no saving me this time Bluebird," Reese told him softly as Nightwing gently took her face in his hands.

"Argent, don't say that. Bruce will find a way to save you. We all will." Silverbird tried to shake her head, but it hurt too much to move.

"I can't, Dick. There won't be any electrical shock in Alaska. No Aqualad playing Dr.Frankenstein, and no Weather Wizard to create the lightning bolt you'd need. I guess it's just my time, Nightwing." Dick shook his head, trying desperately to hold back tears. This couldn't be how it ended, right? Silverbird had such a legacy, a need to serve, to help people, and it would be over, just like that? All because of some stupid bomb? 

Dick suddenly flashbacked to Metropolis two years ago, when Reese first became Silver X because of an explosion. That experience had made her a hero, why couldn't this one keep her alive? A set of cold fingers suddenly brushed against his cheek and jerked Nightwing back to the present.

"You have to let me go, Dick. Live your life, live  _happily_. Your soul holds so much light, I would just oppress you from your full potential," Dick's head snapped up. Where had this come from?

"No, Reese,  _no_ ," he said quickly, oblivious to Bruce standing behind him. "I can't live in a world without you in it.  _You_ make me happy. You don't put me down, you pull me  _up_. Reese Michaels helped Dick Grayson become a better person, and Silverbird is the best partner, and girlfriend that Nightwing could ever ask for. I won't lose you. I  _can't_." By this point, tears were streaming from under Nightwing's domino mask, and Dick reached up to remove his mask, but Reese's hands stopped him.

"Thank you, Dick," she said softly. Nightwing cupped her face and gently pressed his lips to hers in a kiss that absolutely  _wasn't_ goodbye. Dick wouldn't let it be.

"I'm going to remove the metal from Silverbird's stomach," Batman suddenly spoke up, and Nightwing separated from Silverbird and turned towards his former mentor.

"Are you sure?" Dick asked, and Bruce gave him a small smile.

"I believe I can maneuver the piece of metal in such a way that it wouldn't kill her," it wasn't a definite 'yes', but it was something, and desperate times called for desperate measures. Dick nodded and stepped away.

"Be careful," he warned, and then Bruce stepped forward, grasped the metal that was behind Reese and tugged. Silverbird cried out, and Dick itched to rush forward, but he knew better than to get in Batman's way when the Dark Knight was working. The metal was surprisingly flexible, and pretty soon Bruce had shaped it in a way that made it easy for him to ease Reese off of the metal, leaving the shiny alloy dripping with Silverbird's blood.

"We need to get her to the Batcave," Batman said. "We can save Silverbird, but we don't have much time." Nightwing nodded solemnly, then turned back towards where everyone else was gathered. As Bruce held Reese gently in his arms, Nightwing's eyes fell on Sporelli, and his blood boiled.

"Go on ahead," Dick said quickly. "There's something I need to do first." Bruce seemed to know what the former Boy Wonder was thinking, as he only nodded slowly.

"Don't kill him," Batman said, and Nightwing smirked.

"No promises." Batman's cowl lenses narrowed.

" _Dick_." Nightwing quickly held up his hands in defense.

"Okay, okay. I won't kill him. But, does he have to be in one piece?" The Batglare leveled in his direction gave Dick his answer. After delivering a very satisfying right hook to Guiliano's cheekbone, Nightwing walked merrily towards his cycle, whistling.

Guiliano was unconscious, and Reese would be alive. They had rescued Jason and Lauren, and Robin and the Golden Guard were safe. All in all, it had turned out to be a pretty uneventful day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here starts the sequel to Rise of the Shifter! The prologue is written the same way as Rise of the Shifter's, in the way that it is the future, and everything else will be the events leading UP to Reese and Dick's run through Gotham. 
> 
> You also have no idea how long I've wanted to write this, and exploring the depths of Kaldur and Dick's jealousy will be so fun! 
> 
> I literally cried as I was writing this! Reese doesn't actually die though, so we're good! (Oops, did I just spoil the story? Bad, Whistle, bad!) Oh well, Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 1...Base Of Assassins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick heads to Nepal to find Reese and bring her home. When the League of Shadows gets involved, can Nightwing and Silver X escape?

**Kathmandu, Nepal; December 13th, 18:30 UTC+5:45**

_Ten Months Earlier_

Dick 

The young man stepped out of the taxi in the Nepalese capital's main square and turned back to the native driver.

"धन्यवाद," Dick Grayson told the man solemnly, his shaggy black hair blowing in the cold December air. _Thank you._  The man nodded again before speeding back into the busy metropolitan area of Kathmandu. Dick sighed and ran gloved fingers through his hair, making it fall even further into his eyes.

Dick glanced up at the building in front of him. Bruce would kill him if he found out that Dick was going into a pub underage, but the situation was dire. He needed to find Reese, and bring her home.

It had been almost fourteen months since the silver shapeshifter had left Mount Justice for the high-elevation Himalaya Mountains, and the Team just hadn't been the same. Wally and Artemis were spending less and less time with the rest of the Team and had each gone into semi-retirement.

M'gann and Jason had been sulky, and Conner was throwing himself into missions. But, that was nothing compared to how Aqualad was acting. In the time Reese had been gone, the Team had gained two new members.

Barbara Gordon, Dick's old friend from Gotham had taken the mantle of Batgirl, while Garfield Logan, (M'gann's blood brother?) had joined a few months ago. Kaldur hadn't taken well to the new members and preferred for Nightwing to supervise the new recruits while he was in the training room, decimating every one of Dick's punching bags.

Much like when Reese had been in a coma for three weeks two summers ago after the Metropolis Museum exploded, Aqualad was becoming more brutal, injuring more of the Team's adversaries, putting more of them into the hospital with life-threatening injuries than ever, and Dick and Batman had begun to get worried, because Aqualad's temper was beginning to put the Team in danger.

Dick also knew that Kaldur would kill him if the Atlantean found out that Nightwing had left to go to Nepal to bring Aqualad's girlfriend back when said Nightwing was in love with said girlfriend. Dick shook his head quickly to rid himself of his thoughts. That was beside the point.

As Dick walked into the pub, he was instantly assaulted by the smell of Nepali alcohol. He glanced around for a moment, before sliding into a booth that held a single occupant. The man was a bit older than Dick's seventeen years, with a five o'clock shadow and stringy red hair. There was a quiver full of arrows by the man's feet.

"भर्खरै कुनै भालू देखियो?" Dick asked in Nepali.  _Seen any bears recently?_ The man just shook his head.

"नहीं, म अधिक भेड़ियों में हूँ," he answered. _Nah, I'm more into wolves._  Dick's eyes widened and he reached across the table to grasp the man's jacket and brought his face close to his. Dick hadn't wanted to distract his contact from the man's original mission of hunting down the man he was cloned from, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"उनी कहाँ छिन्?" Dick growled slowly. _Where is she?_  Roy Harper just laughed in response.

"Man," he finally said in English. "When you said you needed my help to find Reese, I didn't think you had it this bad," Dick just rolled his eyes and let go of Roy's parka. Then, Red Arrow grew serious, and he steepled his fingers.

"What do you need, Nightwing?" Dick glanced around again to make sure no one was watching them, but the only people around were native Nepali who couldn't understand English.

"I need information on where Reese could be. It's been a year, Red. She needs to come home." Roy raised a skeptical eyebrow at the Gotham teen in front of him before he nodded solemnly.

"Who else knows you're here?" he asked finally, and Dick felt his shoulders tense. That was the one flaw in his plan. You see, the problem here was that no one knew where Dick Grayson had gone. Well, Alfred did, but that was only because of the fact that the British butler had been the one to help Dick leave in the first place. Dick then heard Roy sigh and he saw the ginger archer shake his head in exasperation.

"Grayson, Grayson, Grayson," he said mildly. "Does _nobody_ know where you are right now?"

"Alfred knows," Dick grumbled quietly as he hunched his shoulders for a moment before his head shot up. "So, are you going to help me find Reese or not?" he asked, beginning to grow frustrated. Roy held his hands up in defense and spoke quickly.

"Hey, hey, hey!" he cried. "I never said that. Listen, some of the locals from a village nearby are saying that every now and then a giant wolf comes down from the mountain and walks down an alley, and out comes a girl with a silver bodysuit and brown hair in a braid two seconds later. If that doesn't sound like Silver X, I don't know what does. That enough for you?" Dick could barely contain his excitement.

"Yes!" he cried. "Thank you, Roy!" he was gone in the next second, the only sound following him out of the pub was Roy's raucous laughter. But, Dick had only gone a few paces down the street when a gnarled hand wrapped around his wrist. Dick stopped short and turned to find himself staring into the face of an old Nepali woman, wrinkles covering her face.

"I know who you're looking for," she hissed in accented English. Dick instantly felt suspicious and his Bat instincts kicked in, causing him to analyze the area around him to see if he could find any signs of an ambush. There were none.

"I can't say that I know what you're talking about, ma'am," he said quietly, gently prying his hand from the old woman's cold fingers. To his shock and increasing distrust, the woman just chuckled coldly in response.

"You're looking for the wolf," she said simply, and Dick's eyes widened. How did she know that? He was sure that the woman hadn't been in the pub with him and Roy, so how did she know he was looking for Reese? "I know where she is," The woman continued, and Dick raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Do you now?" he asked, and the woman nodded as if she'd just figured something out.

"You  _do_ know who I'm talking about," Dick scoffed.

"So what if I do?" The woman smiled at him, but to Dick, it looked more like a sneer.

"I know who has her. I can help you find her, for a price of course." Without thinking, Dick grabbed the woman's coat and dragged her almost six inches off the ground. In the past year, Dick had gone through a major growth spurt, almost surpassing Aqualad in height.

"Where. Is. Reese?" he growled, and the woman just cackled again. In a split second, she was free of Dick's hold and left the Gotham vigilante staring down at his hands in shock. Dick looked up again and found the woman standing in an empty alleyway, or Dick thought it was an empty alleyway.

He'd not even gotten three steps in when shadows suddenly materialized out of thin air. Ninjas. Luckily, Dick was wearing his Nightwing suit,  _and_ one of Batman's old utility belts underneath his parka. He swiped a few smoke bombs and threw them on the ground, making a cloud of thick gray smoke appear. He always worked better undercover. Dick grabbed the neck of one of the ninjas and slammed them into another one, just as the latter was about to swipe at Dick with a gleaming katana.

Then, it was just more martial arts, which Nightwing had sorely missed on his journey around the world, from Gotham City to Kathmandu, all in the name of Reese Michaels. Roundhouse kick there, a left hook to the face, drop kick the groin, and three ninjas were unconscious.

Dick thought he had gotten rid of all of the ninjas, and when you're standing over the unconscious bodies of about seven, you tend to let your guard down, right? Which is exactly what happened, as Dick suddenly heard the sound of something whistling through the air and a sharp pain in the side of his neck, like a mosquito. Dick slapped at it before he remembered that he was in Nepal, in December.

He reached up and pulled out a small feathered dart as everything started swimming in front of his eyes. Dick turned around before he fell unconscious in time to see the old woman take off her mask, (Yes, _mask_ !) revealing the face of a woman that Dick recognized all too well. Only, last time Dick Grayson, or rather, Nightwing, had seen her, it had been in the Alaskan tundra after Reese had died, but before Dick and Aqualad had had their first jealous encounter. _Kallik_.

As Dick's eyes fell closed, Kallik set the blowgun down on a nearby crate and stood over the fallen vigilante. The last thing Dick heard before he gave in to the darkness lurking at the edges of his vision was Kallik's voice.

"Nighty-night, Nightwing."

_Crap._

**Nanda Parbat, Pakistan; December 13th, 20:00 UTC+5**

Reese 

The girl walked the length of the of her six-foot by six-foot padded cell, then turned around and did it again. Suddenly, the girl let out a cry of frustration and shifted into a large silver and black tiger and roared at the door, sending a soundwave measuring 250 decibels, twice as loud as a lion, which Reese Michaels found she couldn't turn into. But, when the reinforced pneumatic steel door stayed stubbornly shut, Reese shifted back to human and sat cross-legged on the cushioned floor, rubbing her sore throat.

Reese didn't know how Dinah Lance did it, not injuring her vocal cords every time Black Canary had to use a canary cry. But, thinking about the Justice League just made Reese think more about her current situation. Of course _,_ she'd gotten kidnapped by the League of _Shadows_. When you're a metahuman given powers by Project CADMUS, you tend to get hunted down by secret organizations.

Granted, the way Silver X had been taken had been fairly anti-climactic. She'd been in one of the native Nepali villages buying supplies with some of the Nepalese rupees she'd saved up over the past couple of months. Then, after cutting through a "deserted" alley behind one of the food stalls, Reese had been jumped by a group of four assassins dressed in the green and black garb of the League of Shadows.

She'd been taken to Nanda Parbat in Pakistan, and this is where she'd been kept for the past two weeks. The buzz of static from a microphone jerked Reese from recollections about how she'd gotten here, and she looked up towards the security camera that was mounted on the corner of the wall where it met the ceiling. That buzz meant someone was coming, and they wanted to talk to her.

"Get up!" a voice cried out in English. Reese  _was_ aware that most people in Pakistan spoke Urdu, but the League insisted on speaking the English language _._ Suddenly, her cell door was wrenched open and a man stepped through.

Dressed in the green and black regal garb that symbolized his rank in the League, Ra's al Ghul cast an interesting facade. But, Reese wasn't frightened by the Demon though. She just glared into the eyes of the leader of the League of Shadows, defiance dancing within her dark brown pools.

"What do you need, _Demon_?" Reese spat out through gritted teeth. Ra's just sneered at her in contempt.

"You have a visitor, _shape-shifter_." Reese raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Who?" Ra's sneer grew even wider.

"A certain vigilante. I believe you know him. Nightwing, I think his name was?" Reese froze. Nightwing?  _Dick_. What was he doing here? Ra's chilling laugh made Reese look up.

"I take it you know him?" he asked, and Reese's eyes narrowed. Right after she'd been brought here, one of Ra's minions took her domino mask and hadn't let her have it back, so now the entire League of Shadows knew her secret identity. Not that she'd been particularly secretive about it in the first place, but still.

"Where,  _is_ he?" She growled, and Ra's smirked before he reached behind him and flung a limp body clad in a black stealth suit with a bird decal across the chest into the cell. They had taken his mask as well, and Dick Grayson's face was on full view. After, Ra's left and Reese was alone with Nightwing.

"Nightwing?" she whispered, lightly tapping his cheek. When he didn't move, Reese felt around and found Nightwing's clenched fist. Prying it open, she found a small feathered dart lying in his now open palm. Taking it from his grasp, Reese tilted it towards the single lightbulb in her cell and studied the needle. Suddenly, the top popped off and a small white pill and some powder filtered out. Reese sniffed it, and her eyes widened.

"Rohypnol," she hissed quietly, then took her hand back and quickly slapped Dick across the face, waking the Gothamite up. Nightwing shot up and seemed to grab for something that would be in a utility belt, but he froze when he realized his waist was bare.

"What happened?" he asked, half to himself. 

"The League of Shadows most likely kidnapped you and brought you here, to Nanda Parbat. They did it to me too." Nightwing looked up and seemed to notice her for the first time since he'd woken up.

"Reese?" he managed to croak and Reese gave Dick a soft smile in return.

"Hey." Suddenly, Dick's arms were around Reese's neck and he was almost squeezing the life out of her.

"Thank god I found you," Nightwing started, and he pulled back to stare Reese dead in the eye, and Reese was startled to see the pure emotion that was swimming in his cerulean eyes. "Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you?" he asked. Reese opened her mouth to answer, but Dick just continued as if she wasn't there.

"Two  _months_ Reese! Two, whole months! I've been everywhere. France, Belgium, Romania. I even stopped by Haly's in case you'd somehow ended up there. What do you think I did when I got a call from Red Arrow saying he'd heard something about your whereabouts?" Reese gently laid a hand against Dick's cheek and tilted Nightwing's head towards hers.

"Calm  _down_ , Richard," she said. Reese only ever used Dick's full name when she wanted to get a point across, and hopefully, Nightwing saw her point now. "I'm fine. You found me, and we're going to get out of here." Dick looked at her quizzically.

"How?" Reese smirked.

"You still got Roy on speed dial?"

Dick 

"Help!" Dick heard Reese cry from his spot on the floor, where he was playing dead two hours later. Their plan? Have Nightwing pretend to play dead from Strychnine poisoning, after Dog Button seeds were mistakingly used in the dart Kallik used to knock him out.

Then, after Dick had made a call to Red Arrow, the ginger archer would help the two captured heroes escape, then Roy would go on his way, and Reese and Dick would head back to the United States. And Kaldur, but Dick preferred to not think about that aspect of their plan.

"What is it?" a gruff voice called through a speaker, and Nightwing could only imagine Reese staring up at the security camera with fake fear in her eyes.

"It's Nightwing, I think he's dead!" Reese cried, and Dick tried desperately not to laugh, but his shoulders started shaking anyway. "See, he's convulsing!" Then, a warm hand was placed against Dick's chest, Reese's signal for him to calm down. Nightwing settled, and he heard the cell door open.

"What happened here?" A different voice growled, but this one Nightwing recognized.  _Ra's al Ghul_. Dick tried not to grit his teeth as he thought of the fact that this monster was the one who'd been supervising Reese in her prison.

"It was the dart," Reese whimpered. "There was something else inside. Something that made him convulse, then he just collapsed, and he isn't breathing. You can save him, can't you Ra's?" Ra's? So the Demon and Reese were on a first-name basis now?

"That's Ra's  _al Ghul_ to you, whore." Dick's temper and self-restraint were hanging on by a shoestring. How  _dare_ he call her that. Nightwing felt rather than saw Ra's lean over his "dead" body in response to Reese's request. Dick made sure to let his chest give a deep breath when he felt Ra's rancid breath against his face.

"What the- Nightwing isn't dead!" Dick exploded from his spot on the floor, threw one of his eskrima sticks at the same time, destroying the security camera, and wrapped one hand around Ra's throat.

"Don't.  _Ever_. Call Reese a whore again," he growled, but the head of the League of Shadows just smirked.

"And why should I stop?" he asked, and Nightwing's eyes narrowed even further. "It's what she is, isn't it? Running around with the Atlantean, then rendezvousing with you?" Dick's hand tightened, and Ra's face began to turn red. Dick leaned closer and growled in the Demon's ear

"Don't continue. Not if you want to still speak tomorrow," There was a sudden hand on Nightwing's shoulder, and the vigilante turned his head to see Reese standing behind him, her eyes cold.

"Enough, Nightwing. He's not worth it." Dick turned back towards Ra's and instead of killing him, which Nightwing was seriously contemplating at this point, he just put Ra's in a sleeper hold before the Demon could do anything. Once Ra's was unconscious, Nightwing and Silver X headed out into a hallway after Dick had put on an extra mask he had stashed in a hidden pocket on his suit.

After they had taken down Ra's, one of the other Shadows must have sounded an alarm to alert the rest of the compound to Nightwing and Reese's current location, because all of a sudden there were almost a dozen different assassins running at them from every direction.

"Maneuver 4?" Reese asked. Dick smirked and nodded in agreement.

"Maneuver 4." He suddenly bent over and grabbed Reese's waist and lifted her up, swinging her around as she kicked each of the Shadows in the face. Once most of them were unconscious, Dick and Reese stood together, breathing heavily. Suddenly, Reese's head snapped up to stare at something over Dick's shoulder, and she quickly grabbed a lethal looking bow from one of the unconscious assassins.

She nocked an arrow, then let it fly, just as Dick heard a whooshing noise coming from behind him.

"Duck!" Reese cried, and Nightwing did so just in time to see Reese's arrow lodged into the wall, holding a blade there through the hole in its handle. At the end of the corridor stood an assassin that both Dick and Reese recognized. Holding two sais, was Artemis' sister. Jade Nguyen. Cheshire.

"Well, look who it is," Jade cooed as she slowly walked towards them. Dick took out his eskrima sticks, and Reese nocked another arrow. "It's two-tenths of the little sidekick team." Before Nightwing or Reese could do anything, another figure came flying down an adjoining hallway, knocking Cheshire to the ground. 

" _Don't_ call us sidekick's," Red Arrow said quietly. Cheshire reached up and took off her mask, revealing Jade's smirking face.

"Look who showed up. It's Roy Harper. Red Arrow. And, my  _boyfriend_." Dick heard Reese gag from her spot next to him, and he couldn't help but smirk.

"Yeesh," he said. "Get a  _room_ you two. There are minors present,"

"You mean you?" Cheshire asked. "Because I'm pretty sure Reese is eighteen now." Reese shook her head.

"Nope. De-aging process. Long story. Anyway, I'm sixteen now, will turn seventeen in March.  _So_ , technically still a minor." Jade tilted her head towards Roy, who just shrugged.

"Wow. Hmm, well, I suppose I could let you go," Cheshire said after a moment of silence, and both Nightwing and Silver X stared at her in shock.

"Really?" Dick asked skeptically, and Jade nodded before her expression turned a bit  _sad_?

"Just, say hi to Artemis for me, will you? It's been a while since I've seen her, and I want her to know that her big sister's looking out for her, okay?" Dick opened his mouth, but Reese beat him to it.

"Sure," she said. "I know Artemis will be happy to hear from you." With that, Reese and Dick headed out of the compound, only to freeze once they saw what was waiting for them outside. The Batplane, complete with a Batman and a Robin, both standing at the bottom of the ramp, twin scowls on Bruce and Jason's faces.

"Crap," Nightwing muttered before they were both knocked to the ground by one of ten-year-old Jason Todd's famous hugs.

"I've missed you  _so_ much!" the young Robin cried as Dick helped Reese stand once Jason had stepped away. "When Alfred said you had gone to find Reese, I wanted to go too, but Bruce wouldn't let me, and the Team's been frantic, and Aqualad's probably going to kill you when we get back, and we have a mission, and-"

"Robin," Jason was cut off from his rambling by the sound of Bruce's baritone voice. Batman stepped forward and stared Reese down.

"Silver X." the Dark Knight said simply, and Reese stared back, unflinching.

"Batman. It's been a while."

"Will you be returning to the Team?" Reese tilted her head.

"Depends, does the Team want me back?" It took Nightwing a few seconds to realize that this last comment was directed toward him and Jason.

"Yes!" they cried simultaneously. After a moment, Dick cleared his throat.

"I mean, yes, the Team would like you back as a permanent member Reese." In his peripheral, Nightwing could see Batman staring at him, and Dick could feel his face heating up, and the temperature rose, even more, when Reese sent a smile his way.

"Then I will accept," she said, and Batman gave a minuscule smile, but for Bruce, it was immense. 

**Mount Justice; December 13th, 11:00 EST**

**Recognized Nightwing B01, Silver X B10, Robin B11**

As Dick, Reese, and Jason walked out of the Zeta tubes and into the cave, they were instantly assaulted by four hugs that knocked all three of them to the ground. Dick looked up to find himself staring at Wally, Artemis, M'gann, and Conner, all who had tears in their eyes. 

Conner would deny it later, but Dick knew there had been saltwater drops lurking at the corners of the CADMUS clone's eyes. Once everyone had let go, Dick stood up and was promptly slugged in the arm by Wally, who was staring at Nightwing, anger and hurt written on his face.

"Dude!" he cried. "Where have you been? It's been two months!" Dick shrugged his shoulders as if it was no big deal. 

"I went to find Silver X," he said simply. "In Nepal. Then we were kidnapped by the League of Shadows, I played dead, I also choked Ra's al Ghul, Artemis, Jade says hello, and then we came here." Before anyone could speak, Batman's voice came from the holo-computers.

"Team, brief." As everyone else dispersed, Nightwing couldn't help but notice that Aqualad hadn't come into the cave. He grabbed Wally's shoulder as the speedster was getting ready to run to change his suit.

"Where's Kaldur?" Dick asked quietly. Wally shook his head.

"He's been gone for the past couple of weeks. Said something about 'helping Aquaman with something in the South China Sea.'. I don't know. Looks like you're in charge for this one, Nightwing," Dick stood, shocked, as Wally sped off to put his Kid Flash suit on, not because of the fact that he was in charge, but the fact that Aqualad wasn't here. Nightwing felt a sudden presence over his shoulder, and Dick turned to see Reese standing behind him.

"He's not here?" she asked, and Dick didn't need a mind reader to know who she was talking about. He shook his head.

"South China Sea," he said simply. Reese shrugged.

"I should've guessed," she said sadly, and Nightwing glanced at her from the corner of his mask.  "I mean, the way I left? It must have worn on his pride a bit." Nightwing turned around and stared hard at Reese. He gently grasped her shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"Reese, it's not your fault. You decided to leave so you could learn to control your powers. And I helped you escape, so it's just as much my fault as yours." Reese's head snapped up, and she gazed at Dick with a million questions in her eyes.

"What? Dick, no. It's not your fault. I'm the one who left Aqualad in the dust.  _You're_ the one who found me in Nepal, not Kaldur. It's  _not_ your fault." For some reason, Dick didn't feel like they were talking about where Aqualad had gone anymore. Chuckling quietly, Dick made a move and wrapped an arm around Reese's shoulder. When she didn't tense or push him away, Nightwing breathed a mental sigh of relief.

"Welcome home, Reese."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Nanda Parbat is where the original Boston Brand Deadman originated, but for Project Silverbird I'm going to use it as it was used in Arrow, as the headquarters for the League of Assassins/Shadows.


	3. Chapter 2...Flying Grayson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reese and Dick have just returned, and now they have to stop a weapon trafficking operation in Rome. When Kaldur shows up and almost injures Reese, will Nightwing be able to keep it together?

**Rome, Italy; December 14th, 00:30 GMT+1:00**

Reese

Not even back in the United States for a full day and Batman was already sending her on a mission back overseas. To be fair, Nightwing had also been out of the country for almost two months, and he was sitting two seats ahead of her in the Bioship. Suddenly, Reese flashbacked to their conversation in the cave, and her face heated up. When she'd been in the Himalayas for a year,  _of course_ , she missed the Team. 

For the first month, after she'd left Mount Justice, Reese had cried herself to sleep in whatever place she'd been staying that particular night. After a while, the feeling had turned numb, with only a few people taking the forefront in her aching heart. Lauren, of course, Jason, as the little brother she'd never had, and Dick.

Reese hadn't realized how deep her feelings ran for Nightwing until she'd been in a village a certain day in September gathering supplies, and a woman offered to read her palm. When she realized she was missing Nightwing more than Aqualad.

Inside the gypsy's tent, it had smelled strongly of incense, that, strangely, reminded Reese of what Nightwing always smelled like after any event that Bruce dragged him too. Pine needles and peppermint. Not that Reese went around smelling people (she didn't), but it still threw her for a loop. Then, when the woman had read her fortune, Reese had grown even more frightened. Not of her feelings in general, but what they would mean for her relationship with Kaldur.

xxxxxx

_"Bine ati venit," the gypsy woman told her softly in Romanian. 'Welcome.' Reese didn't know what a Romanian woman would be doing as far east as the outskirts of Kathmandu, but nonetheless, Reese nodded her head in greeting. "Pot să-ți citesc Palma?" 'May I read your palm?'_

_Ever since Reese had left Mount Justice, she'd been learning foreign languages. She seemed to have a knack for it, and was now almost fluent in several, Romanian included. Maybe it was a side effect of the Silver X?_

_" Sigur," Reese told the woman. 'Sure.' The gypsy held the flap to her tent open, and the smell of pine needles and peppermint instantly assaulted Reese's nostrils, bringing to mind a certain Gotham City vigilante. Reese stepped inside at the woman's insistence after the mental image of Nightwing had faded. Inside, the smell was stronger, and Reese was surprised to feel tears pricking at the corners of her eyes._

_" Esti trist," the woman said simply as she sat down on a red cushion, patting the one next to her.  'You are sad.' It wasn't a question, but an observation. As Reese sat down, she wondered how the woman would notice, and didn't say anything. "Is it your heart that hurts?" Reese was surprised to hear her speaking English, heavily accented as it were, but she nodded anyway._

_"Yes. Sorry, I'm just surprised you speak English. No offense," the woman smiled at her._

_"None took," she said quietly as she poured Reese a cup of tea. "In my line of work, you meet many people, learn many languages. English is just one of the several that I know. How about you?" Reese looked down at the cup and saucer in front of her, then glanced back up at the woman._

_"I'm sorry," Reese said quickly. "I just don't feel comfortable sharing this kind of stuff with someone when I don't even know their name," the woman looked shocked for a moment before she pressed a hand to her chest._

_"Oh my!" she cried out. "Wherever are my manners? My name is Blanche Ana Theodora Constantine. And you?"_

_"Reese Michaels," Blanche smiled softly._

_"Well Reese, since you know my name and I now know yours, are you willing to speak your heart?" Reese thought about it for a moment, then nodded._

_"How do I begin?" Blanche looked thoughtful before she gestured to one of the incense pots._

_"Perhaps you will focus better if I change the scent?" Reese nodded gratefully._

_"Yes, thank you. I'm sorry. It's just, the smell reminds me of..." she trailed off, not exactly willing to talk about Nightwing, but Blanche seemed to understand._

_"Do you love him?" she asked, and Reese's eyes widened. Her? Love Nightwing? She had already said she'd loved Kaldur, and they were in a happy relationship. Or at least, they had been, until Nightwing had smuggled Reese away in the middle of the night to bring her to John F. Kennedy International Airport, so she could leave. _

_And sure, Dick was one of Reese's best friends, and he was way too attractive for his own good, plus he'd been the one to say he would take the blame for her disappearance, there was also Scarecrow's fear simulation...wait, better to not think about that..., and ever since her de-aging, Reese was closer to Dick's age, she had also kissed Dick before she'd left and...Oh my god, she loved Nightwing. _

_"I-I guess I do," she finally confessed to Blanche, and the woman smiled. _

_"I thought so. But, that isn't your problem, is it Reese?" the younger girl shook her head sadly._

_"The thing is, I was already in a relationship before I left Mount- nevermind." What would Kaldur do when he found out his girlfriend loved the vigilante from Gotham? Blanche leveled a stare Reese's way. _

_"Reese, you don't have to tell me where you are from, but you did come in here to let me read your palm, did you not?" Reese reluctantly nodded. _

_"I did," Blanche held out a hand, and Reese tentatively put her hand in Blanche's, palm up. As the woman ran her fingers down the inside of Reese's palm, Blanche began to speak, her gaze seeming to stare into nothingness._

_"I see a mountain," obviously Mount Justice. "and two men. One, an Atlantean, who cares for you so very much, and a black and blue vigilante, who still feels guilt towards the choices he made. Whichever one comes for you is the one who loves you more. He has already left to bring you home." On that note, Blanche's gaze refocused and she glanced at the girl in front of her, who had quite a fearful look in her eyes. _

_"That is all I can see," Blanche said firmly. "Anything else you would like to add to my findings, Reese?" Reese quickly shook her head and stood up._

_"Thank you, Blanche," she said. "For everything. You've given me...a lot to think about," with that, Reese stepped outside the tent and headed back towards the village, Blanche gazing after her. When Reese was out of sight, the widowed gypsy walked back inside her caravan and stared up at the yellowed with age circus poster that was pasted to her wall._

_' **The Flying Graysons** ', it read. ' **The Greatest Acrobatics Act East of The Atlantic. Come To See Them In Action At Haly's Traveling Circus!** ' It had been a while since Blanche had heard someone speak of the Flying Graysons, but there was something about the sound of the pure emotion that had been in Reese's voice as she talked about her Flying Grayson. Her Nightwing. _

_As she entered the village, Reese suddenly realized that Blanche had never changed the scent._

xxxxxx

"Silver?" a voice called, jerking Reese from her thoughts. She was back in the Bioship, hovering above the ancient city of Rome, and Nightwing was staring at her, a small crease between his eyebrows showcasing his worry. "Reese, you okay?"

"What?" she asked, still halfway in her memories. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Nightwing," Dick gave her a small smile, and Reese couldn't help the blush that reached her cheeks, turning them a pale pink.

"Well," Dick continued. "We're here," he gestured out the Bioship's window, and Reese saw the top of the building where the weapons deal was supposed to be going down. It was an old warehouse on the outskirts of the city, previously used to store museum artifacts, at least, that's what Batman had said. Jason had also needed to stay back in Gotham after he'd been told by Alfred it was "an operation way past Master Jason's bedtime". Robin had  _not_ been happy about that.

When Silver X and Nightwing dropped down onto the roof, the rotting wood gave a very unsatisfying creak under their weight. Dick and Reese both froze, and visibly relaxed when they didn't fall through. 

' _Smooth Nightwing,_ ' a smug voice called from the telepathic link M'gann had set up. ' _Real smooth_ _._ ' Reese had never met Barbara Gordon or Batgirl, but she knew that Babs was one of Dick's best friends from Gotham Academy, where they were juniors.

' _What's the plan?_ ' Reese asked Nightwing once they were steady. Dick thought for a moment before he spoke.

' _Batman said that the main perpetrators of the weapon deal would be the Ricci and Sporelli crime families,_ ' he said. ' _They're famous for dealing in all types of trafficking. Sex and Human trafficking, drugs, the works._ ' Silver crept over to a nearby skylight and looked down through the dirty glass. Inside, there were two large groups facing each other, with a crate full of automatic weapons sitting on the ground between them.

"It's happening now," Reese said out loud, and Nightwing's head snapped up.

"You're sure?" he asked, and Reese nodded.

"See for yourself," she gestured towards the skylight, and Dick rushed forward to look. Reese stood behind his shoulder and watched as the weapons deal went down.

"Hai I soldi?" One of the men asked.  _Do you have the money?_ One of the others from the opposite group nodded, then took out a silvery metallic briefcase and set it on a table. Inside, were stacks of hundred-dollar bills, at  _least_  twenty million dollars. Reese heard Kid Flash whistle from behind her.

"That is  _a lot_ of moola," Ignoring him, Reese turned back to Dick.

"What do we do, Nightwing?" she asked, but Dick just kept staring into the skylight, concentration etched on his face. "Nightwing?" No reaction. Whatever he was looking at seemed to be taking all of his attention. Reese rolled her eyes before she pressed her index finger against the back of his neck, right on the nape. She could feel Dick shiver for a moment before his hand flew back and gripped her wrist. Reese just smirked as Nightwing glared at her.

"What?" he grumbled. Reese gestured around the roof to each member of the Team that was present.

"The  _plan_ , Nightwing? How are we going to stop the Riccis and Sporellis from letting all of those guns out on the streets?" Nightwing's eyes widened.

"Oh," Reese nodded.

" _So_ , what's our plan of action?" she asked again, and Nightwing glanced down the skylight for a moment more before turning back to the Team.

"Kid Flash, Artemis, Batgirl, and Miss Martian will help take down the guards on the outside. Beastboy, you and Superboy are the muscle. You'll take down the people doing the deal," Reese glanced at Dick from the corner of her eye, aware and confused as to why he had skipped over the two of them. Before she could speak, Wally beat her to it.

"Wait, what will you and Silver X be doing?" Kid Flash asked, and Reese saw Nightwing smirk.

"Collateral," he said simply, beckoning the both of them to the skylight. When the three of them looked through the glass, Reese swore quietly under her breath. Collateral, indeed. There, sitting behind Antonio Ricci, were two teenagers, about her age. They also bore an uncanny resemblance to her and Dick, except their skin was more olive-colored, and Reese's doppelganger had black hair.

"Well, that's peachy," Wally said, and Reese nodded in agreement. Before any of them could do anything, one of the crime leaders glanced towards the skylight, and Reese tugged Nightwing and Kid Flash away from the glass, hopefully before the man could see them. As the three of them sprawled on the roof, at the edge of her hearing, Reese heard someone speaking Italian.

"Controlla il tetto," a man said.  _Check the roof_.

"Shit," Reese hissed, and Nightwing glanced at her.

"What is it?" he asked, and Reese gestured down into the warehouse.

"Someone's coming," Just then, everyone's head snapped towards the roof's door as the sound of footsteps drew near. Reese glanced at Nightwing's leg and saw his eskrima stick holster, and grabbed the two short batons.

"What are you doing?" Dick asked once he realized that his holster was empty. Reese was already halfway to the door.

"I need to borrow these," she said. As the door opened, it revealed the scowling face of one of Sporelli's goons.

"Check the roof, Francesco," the man was grumbling. "I might not kill you, Francesco. Now, what do I care about stupid vigilantes stopping this operation? Nothing, because I'll end up dying anyway. If Interpol don't kill me, the Riccis will. Kill me for not getting them their stupid weap-nggh," His self-grumbling was abruptly cut off when Reese swung one of Nightwing's eskrima sticks against the back of his head, knocking him out cold.

"Francesco" began to fall backward, his most likely three-hundred-pound body of pure muscle pinning Reese between the stairs going down into the warehouse and the roof. As Reese felt herself begin to tip back, she opened her mouth to cry out.

"Help!"

Dick 

As Nightwing saw the unconscious body of Francesco begin to make Reese fall backward, into the warehouse where there were almost two dozen bozos with automatic weapons waiting for her, so many different scenarios flashed through Dick's mind, and none of them were good. 

Nightwing suddenly leaped forward and wrapped one hand around Reese's wrist, breathing a sigh of relief as he felt Reese's hand wrap around his. Then, as Francesco then started falling towards  _him_ , Dick hooked a leg around the door jamb as an anchor and tossed the Italian man to the side, only to watch in horror as Francesco started tilting towards the roof's edge.

Leaning back as far as his agile acrobatic's body would allow him, Dick grabbed the collar of Francesco's suit, just as he fell over the edge. Now, Nightwing was caught between trying not to let Reese fall into the waiting muzzle of the Sporellis' AK-47s, and not letting one of their goons fall to his death from seventy feet in the air.

"A little... _help_ here?" he bit out through gritted teeth as both Reese  _and_ Francesco began to slip. Reese fell through first and without thinking, Dick let go of Francesco and wrapped his arms around Reese's waist as they both tumbled down the stairs, alerting everyone in the warehouse to their location. The thunder of footsteps got closer, along with the frantic voices of their teammates.

"Silver? Nightwing?" M'gann cried as Dick helped Reese to her feet. The stairs had been made of stone, and Nightwing had made it so he took the brunt of their impact, so Dick was pretty sure he now had a few bruised ribs.

"Yeah, we're fine Miss Martian!" Reese called quietly. "Just go on with the plan! We'll meet you guys downstairs!" After she'd finished, Reese turned to Dick, and the Gotham vigilante flinched with her stone-cold stare.

"You okay?" she asked. "You're holding your ribs," Dick instantly let go of his side and gave a small smirk, desperate to make Reese stop worrying about him, even though it made his face burn with the thought of her worrying about him in the first place.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm like a cat, you can't kill me." Reese still looked skeptical, but the sound of footsteps stopped her from arguing with him. Nightwing grabbed Reese and tugged her behind a nearby crate, her back to his chest, and slapped a hand over her mouth just as six henchmen made it to the top of the second-level stairway. Dick could feel Reese's warm breath tickling his palm, and he was trying  _really_ hard to not think about how they were sitting right now.

"Non c'è Nessuno qui!" one of the goons cried.  _There's nobody here!_

"Spazzare l'area. Il capo vuole I vigilantes morti. Trovali, o avrà le nostre teste," their leader called back.  _Sweep the area. The boss wants the vigilantes dead. Find them, or he'll have our heads._ Suddenly, the area was full of the sound of rapid gunfire, as the Italian con-men let loose an assault of bullets on the line of crates where Dick and Reese were hiding. Even though it started on the far end,  _away_ from Nightwing and Reese, the sounds got closer with every second.

Dick hunched over and shielded Reese with his body as the shooting got so close that splinters began flying at them. Dick felt some of the wood prick his cheeks, but Reese reached up and plucked them out before they could do much damage. Then, there was a thud, the sound of a body hitting the floor, and Nightwing and Reese both froze. If one of the goons got in the way of the bullets... Another thud, and then another, and then the bullets stopped.

"Hey, Nightwing!" A voice cried, and Dick heaved a sigh of relief. Wally. Picking himself up, Dick stood up from behind the crate to meet Kid Flash's eyes. When Wally saw Reese stand up behind Nightwing, he smirked, and Dick prepared for the onslaught.

" _So_ ," he started, before Reese held up a hand.

"No," she said simply. "We are _not_ having this conversation again. Because  _last_ time you said 'so' like that, I was in a coma for three weeks." Dick couldn't help but smirk as Wally opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Reese again.

"Ah. What did I say?" A flash of movement in his peripheral suddenly caught Nightwing's attention, and he turned in time to see another man in a black suit in the rafters, holding a sniper rifle, with the scoping laser pointed right at Reese.

"Get down!" Dick cried, tackling Reese just as the sniper pulled the trigger. The bullet lodged itself into an unexploded crate six inches from Dick's head.

Artemis, who had just dropped in from the roof, quickly shot an arrow towards the sniper, making the man fall from his perch. When the adrenaline faded from Dick's mind, the former acrobat realized he was still hovering over Reese, hands braced on either side of her.

"You okay?" he asked her breathlessly, and Reese nodded, fear still lurking in her eyes. Dick stood up again and reached a hand for Reese, who took it gratefully.

" _Now_ can we get on with the plan?" Wally asked, attempting to lighten up the situation. Nightwing glanced over the railing down into the main showroom of the warehouse, where the Sporellis and Riccis were just noticing the sniper that Artemis had shot. Antonio Ricci was among them. As he grasped Artemis's arrow and tugged, his head snapped up to look where Kid Flash, Artemis, Nightwing, and Silver X were standing.

"Ah," he said in heavily-accented English. "Look who it is. The Bat's little bird, Flashboy, Arrow's sidekick, and-" his eyes landed on Reese, and Ricci smiled in such a way that made Nightwing's fist clench and his teeth grind.

"Why it's  _Silver X_ ," he sneered. "Whatever are you doing here, beautiful?" Dick's jaw clenched even more, and Reese looked absolutely revolted.

"That's disgusting," she said before she swung herself over the edge of the railing and dropped to the floor, Nightwing following. Dick didn't want to leave Reese alone with Ricci for too long. Kid Flash and Artemis, meanwhile, along with Babs and Miss Martian, were stealthily taking down the rest of Sporelli's men, while Ricci just ogled Reese openly, much to her disgust, and Dick's anger.

"Now, what are you doing here?" Ricci asked softly, and Dick's knuckles turned white with how hard he was grasping his eskrima sticks. This man was  _twisted_.

"Why is it any of your business?" Reese asked confidently, and Dick silently congratulated her. But, then Ricci stepped even closer and ran a hand over Reese's shoulder. Nightwing was shaking with rage now, and Ricci noticed.

"Ah, Nightwing," he said. "Does this make you uncomfortable?" he ran a hand from Reese's shoulder down her side, and Dick was quickly losing his self-control.

"Stop," he growled, and Ricci smirked.

"Why should I?" Before Nightwing could throw himself at him, Ricci was thrown to the side by a wall of glowing blue water. Nightwing's blood froze as he realized only one person could've done that. Kaldur. 

Sure enough, Aqualad was standing at the entrance to the warehouse, wearing an expression of pure rage. He leaped forward, water-bearers at the ready, and Nightwing pulled Reese out of the way just in time, or else she would've been trampled by the rampaging Atlantean. 

It took Dick a few seconds to realize that his feet were wet. Nightwing looked down in shock to find water was quickly filling up the warehouse. Kaldur was flooding it. He grabbed Reese's hand and dragged her towards the stairs that would take them to the roof. Halfway up, Reese was suddenly wrenched from Dick's grip.

He spun around to find that Alessandro Sporelli had grabbed onto Reese's ankle, and was steadily dragging her into the water.

"If Ricci won't be able to have you," Sporelli sneered. "I guess it's my turn then." Then, he wrapped one beefy arm around her waist and dragged her underwater.

" _Reese_!" Nightwing cried, different outcomes flashing through his head, each one where Reese ended up dead, or worse. Dick glanced outside to find Aqualad still fighting Ricci, while the rest of the Team dealt with the rest of the bodyguards.

Fishing a rebreather out of his utility belt, Nightwing dove under the water, only to find Reese in a choke-hold against the wall. Sporelli was gawking at her, a dark look in his eyes that Dick definitely did  _not_ like. Nightwing quickly swam forward and ripped Sporelli away from Reese. The Italian man seemed surprised, but nothing was going through Dick's mind at that moment except a need to protect Reese.

Once Sporelli was out of the way, Nightwing turned towards Reese, and he was shocked to see that the girl was unconscious, her eyes closed, and face slowly inching towards blue. The color of drowning. Dick shot towards Reese and wrapped his arms around her, before swimming out the door just as it exploded, making all of the water in the warehouse run out in a massive wave.

When Nightwing was outside, he quickly took the rebreather out of his mouth and flung it to the side, before pressing on Reese's chest in an attempt to perform CPR.  _1...2...3..._ Once Dick got to thirty, he tilted Reese's chin and breathed into her mouth. Then he began again. 1 _...2...3..._ More breaths.

"Come on, Reese!" Dick said softly as everyone else gathered around. "I can't lose you. Not again." Nightwing could feel Aqualad's pale green eyes burning into the back of his head, but Dick didn't care. Suddenly, when Dick was just starting to get discouraged, there was a cough, and Reese's dark brown eyes snapped open as she expelled the water from her lungs. Nightwing couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"Nightwing?" Reese asked quietly, and suddenly her arms were around Dick's neck, and she was hugging him as if her life depended on it, which it kind of did, Dick supposed, but it was still a nice feeling. Once Reese let go, Nightwing helped her stand, and his eyes landed on Aqualad.

Kaldur. He'd returned. And this was all his fault.


	4. Chapter 3...Morals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aqualad has returned from the South China Sea, and Reese gets to see first-hand how much Kaldur has changed in the time she's been gone.

  **Rome, Italy; December 14th, 02:40 GMT+1:00**

Dick

For a minute, all Nightwing could do was stare. Stare at the man who had ended up breaking Reese's heart. Stare at the Atlantean responsible for making her leave in the first place. The Atlantean responsible for putting Dick in a coma. And, the former sidekick who was currently standing under the collective stares of Artemis, Miss Martian, Superboy, Kid Flash, Beastboy, Batgirl, Silver X,  _and_ Nightwing.

"Nightwing," Kaldur's voice was cold, and from the corner of his eye, Dick saw Wally shiver. "I see you've returned. And with Silver X, I see?" the way Aqualad's pale green eye flicked dismissively over Reese's form made Nightwing come  _this_ close to exploding, but Reese's hand on his bird-decaled chest made him stop.

"Aqualad," Reese's voice was just as cold, if not colder, and Dick saw Kaldur's eyes widen minutely. "Have you come to put Nightwing back into a coma?" Dick heard Aqualad suck in a breath, but before the Atlantean could speak, Reese held up a hand. "You know what? I don't want to hear it." Reese's eyes focused on something over Nightwing's shoulder, and before Dick was able to process it, Silver X had taken one of Nightwing's eskrima sticks,  _again_ , and lobbed it over his shoulder.

Dick heard a dull 'thud' and he turned around to see one of Ricci's henchmen, lying unconscious on the cracked pavement of the warehouse's parking lot. Beside him were Dick's eskrima stick and a menacing-looking gun. Before anyone else could say anything, Reese spoke again.

"M'gann, I might need your help with something," the Martian gave a small nod, and Nightwing glanced at Reese from the corner of his eye.

"What's your plan?" he asked quietly, and Reese jerked her head towards a pair of teens sitting solemnly on a pair of sodden wood crates. Dick felt his fists clench when he recognized the two. It was his and Reese's doppelgängers, Leo and Celeste Ricci.

"The rest of you can head back to the Bioship," Nightwing said finally. "The three of us will meet you in a few minutes," the rest of the Team nodded, and Reese led Nightwing and Miss Martian over to where the twins were sitting.

"Sei Venuto ad arrestarci?" a small, timid voice asked, and Nightwing looked up to see Celeste Ricci gazing at him with big brown eyes.  _Have you come to arrest us?_  Up close, the similarities between the four of them were even more uncanny. Leo and Dick were only a few inches taller than Celeste and Reese, while the girls each had sculpted features, that, under entirely different circumstances, Dick would've found attractive.

"Capisci l'inglese?" Reese asked, bending down so she was level with Celeste.  _Do you understand English?_ The girl nodded but waved her hand in a so-so motion.

"Capisco la lingua, non-sono in grado di dirlo,"  _I understand the language, I just am not able to speak it_. Nightwing spoke up.

"Why not?" Celeste shrugged her shoulders.

"Mio padre nonl'ha mai ritenuto necessario. Leo è sempre stato il traduttore,"  _My father never deemed it necessary. Leo was always the translator._ The three heroes' heads turned towards Dick's doppelgänger, who just gave them a smirk.

"Se Avessi Saputo che I Giovani eroi avevano così Tanti compagni di Squadra, avrei lasciato Mio padre molto tempo prima," Dick's fists clenched again as he mentally translated Leo's words.  _If I knew that the young heroes had such hot teammates, I would've left my father long ago_. Leo wasn't looking at M'gann when he said that either.

"Can it, Ricci," Dick scoffed, struggling to keep his temper in check. "We know you can speak English, so just drop the act." Leo looked at Dick like he was just now noticing the vigilante and the look in Leo's eyes? Well, Dick could only describe it as disgusted.

"Tsk, tsk, Nightwing," Leo said with only the faintest hint of an accent, shaking his head as if he was disappointed. "I was only making conversation," Nightwing raised a single eyebrow behind his mask.

"Do your 'conversation starters' _normally_ begin with perverted flirts?" Leo's smirk only grew, and Dick made to move forward, but Reese stopped him.

"Calm down," she hissed. "Both of you. We won't arrest you, yet, but what we need, Celeste and Leo, is information. Did either of you know that your father was planning this deal with the Sporellis?" Celeste instantly shook her head.

"No, giuro che non-lo sapevo. Io partecipo solo agli affari di Mio padre perché sono obbligato a farlo!"  _No, I swear I didn't know. I only participate in my father's business because I'm required to!_ Dick believed her, but he jerked his head towards Leo and stared the Italian dead in the eye.

"What about you?" he asked coldly, still a bit miffed from their brief spat earlier. "Did you know what was about to go down?" Leo just smirked.

"Telo dirò," he said smugly.  _I'll tell you,_ "ma solo se prima avrò un appuntamento con il tuo Bellissimo partner,"  _but only if I get a date with your beautiful partner first._ Richard Grayson had just about had it with Leonardo Ricci's innuendos, so Nightwing reached forward and grabbed onto Leo's sports jacket collar before dragging the teenager until he was nose-to-nose with Nightwing.

"Listen here  _pal_ ," Dick growled. "We can do this the easy way, where you just tell us what you know about this weapons deal, or the hard way, where I glare it out of you. Personally, I like the hard way, because I've been told I have a really nasty glare. What will it be?" Leo seemed to think about it for a minute before his eyes narrowed and he suddenly swung out at Dick, making the Gotham vigilante let go of his lapels and duck.

Nightwing swiped a leg out and knocked Leo's own out from under him, making the younger Ricci collapse to the ground in a heap. Leo lay on the ground, trying to catch his breath as Celeste, Reese, M'gann, and Nightwing all stood over him, looking down.

"Well, that wasn't very smart," M'gann said quietly, and Dick chuckled.

"Yeah, well, bad guys aren't usually the brightest," Reese suddenly turned to M'gann, a concentrated look on her face.

"Miss M, can you read Leo's mind to see if he knows anything about the weapons deal? I would but..." she trailed off, and Dick inwardly bristled at what Leo had asked in exchange for his information. M'gann gave a small, understanding smile and placed her hands on the sides of Leo's head, and her eyes started to glow green.

After a few seconds, Miss Martian let go and her eyes returned to normal, and Nightwing's blood boiled when he saw the look on the white Martian's face.

"He knows," she said simply before she floated up to the Bioship to join the rest of the Team. When she was gone, Dick turned to Reese.

"What are we going to do?" he asked, but before either of them could say anything, Dick and Reese were sprawled on the ground as Leo Ricci sprung up and started sprinting away, knocking his sister to the ground as he did so.

Dick growled and slammed his fist against the ground as he watched Leo get further and further away. As Nightwing and Silver X sat up wearily, Dick saw Reese tap her commlink in her ear. After a moment of static, Reese's voice filtered through the line.

"Silver X to Beastboy," Garfield Logan's voice answered quickly.

"Whattup, Silver?"

"Nightwing and I need you on the ground. We got a runner," After another few minutes, a green blur zipped out of the camouflaged Bioship, and the hawk turned back into Beastboy as he landed on the ground.

"What's the plan?" Garfield asked, and Dick was shocked to see how serious M'gann's little brother was being. Normally he was a jokester, much like Dick himself when he was younger. Maybe Nightwing had been gone longer than he'd originally thought.

"Can you turn into something fast?" Reese's voice jerked Dick from his thoughts, and the vigilante looked up in time to catch Beastboy's smirk.

"Is pizza the best food ever?" he asked rhetorically, but stopped once he caught Dick's glare. "I mean, yeah, I can do fast," Reese gave a brisk nod before in her place stood a magnificent silver timberwolf, shoulder muscles rippling under the metallic silver fur.

' _Good_ ,' Reese said through the mental link since neither of the others could understand her when she was in one of her animal forms. ' _Because we need speed. And not a speedster_,' With that, Reese and Garfield, who was now a cheetah, took a ready position, before sprinting towards the way that Leo seemed to have disappeared.

After a few minutes, there was a dull thud, followed by a sharp cry and a wolf's howl. Nightwing ran to where the sound had come from, only to find Leo grappling with a de-transformed Reese, while Garfield lay stunned on the ground, groaning.

"Argent!" Dick cried as Leo got in a right hook to Reese's jaw. Reese suddenly sprang and head-butted the teenage Ricci, throwing him back into a pile of crates. Nightwing ran forward and slammed into Leo, making the Italian fall to the ground again. Reaching down, Dick grabbed onto Leo's jacket lapels and dragged Leo up until they were nose-to-nose. "What's your deal, Ricci. Running from us won't help. We're friends with a speedster, I could have Kid Flash down here in two seconds flat. Now,  _tell us what you know_ ," Leo sighed and nodded.

"Fine," he growled. "Two months ago, my father was approached by one of Alessandro Sporelli's messengers. The guy said that Sporelli wanted to make a deal. A deal that would put almost fifty million dollars-worth of military-grade weapons out on the streets of Rome. Now, I know I may  _seem_ like a bit of a prick-"

"You are," Nightwing interrupted. Leo glared at him for a moment before turning his head back towards Reese.

" _Anyway_ , I know I'm part of a crime family and stuff, but it's not like I want innocent civilians to die, which is what would've happened if that deal went through. Anyway, the deal was that in exchange for getting our family more power, Sporelli warranted a trade," Dick tilted his head, and he exchanged a glance with Reese.

"What kind of trade?" Reese asked, and Dick was shocked to see a few  _tears_ glistening in Leo's eyes.

"Sporelli has a son, an eighteen-year-old. The guy'll chase anything in a skirt, even his own sister, but who he really wanted was..." he trailed off, and Nightwing heard Reese swear quietly under her breath.

"He wanted Celeste." it wasn't a question, Dick realized, more of a statement. Leo nodded.

"He wanted Celeste. My father agreed with the bastard, and Celeste was set to go to the Sporelli's home base in Gotham City in one month, just in time for Sporelli's son's birthday. They're betrothed, as well," After his monologue, Leonardo Ricci hung his head, and the teen's shoulders started to shake. "Y-you can arrest me," he stammered out. "H-hand me o-over to I-Interpol, but please, take care of my sister," 

At that moment, a squad of Interpol vans drove up to the warehouse, and multiple officers jumped out, led by none other than Special Agent King Faraday. Dick was surprised, the last time the Team had run into Faraday was when they had needed to help Jack Haly with Parasite two years ago.

"Nightwing," Faraday said briskly as he walked up to the three. His eyes widened when he caught sight of Reese standing by Dick's shoulder. "Silver X," he sounded surprised. "I didn't realize you had returned." Reese only shrugged.

"I figured it was time to come home," she said, and Faraday gave a stiff nod before he signaled to a couple other officers and they began to round up Leo and rest of the henchmen of the Sporellis and Riccis, but Dick swore under his breath when he realized that Alessandro Sporelli and Antonio Ricci weren't among them. 

Needless to say, Dick was in a foul mood as he and Reese picked up Beastboy and started dragging him back to the Bioship. Ricci and Sporelli had both gotten away, while Ricci's daughter was currently betrothed to a man who seemed like something Nightwing wanted to throw in prison. As Dick ran through the events of the past couple hours, he realized that there was only a small window of time where Sporelli and Ricci would've been able to get away.

When Nightwing, Silver X, and Miss Martian were interrogating Ricci's twins. When they were interrogating  _Leo_. While Reese and Dick were distracted, it would've been easy for the senior Ricci and Sporelli to sneak away. Nightwing snapped his head up as he, Reese, and Gar reached Celeste.

"He knew," Dick hissed out through gritted teeth, and Reese glanced at him.

"What?" she asked, and Nightwing started to pace, running his hands through his hair.

"He  _knew_!" Dick cried, stopping in front of Celeste. "Leo  _knew_ his father and Sporelli were going to try and escape, so he distracted  _us_ by telling us that stupid sob-story!" Celeste's eyes widened, and the girl's head whipped towards the vans were steadily driving away.

"Leo. Ha detto che aveva un piano se qualcosa dovesse mai andare Storto," she whispered quietly.  _Leo. He said he had a plan if anything were ever to go wrong._  "Qualcosa di Grosso,"  _Something big._  "Qualcosa, esplosivo,"  _Something, explosive._

Dick whipped his head towards the vans at the same time as Reese, and Silver X turned into her tiger and leaped towards the convoy, Nightwing right behind her, the latter only stopping to yell back at Beastboy,

"Gar! Get Celeste to the Bioship!" Just as Dick and Reese reached the line of trucks, the last one, the truck that had been holding Leo, exploded, and the shockwave made Dick and Reese fly back and Reese shift back to human, her body thudding into Dick's chest as they both ended up sprawled on the ground.

Nightwing sat up, but everything started to spin and Dick clutched the side of his head as a sudden pain lanced through it. His ears were ringing, and Dick turned to see Reese's limp body laying next to him, and images flashed through Dick's mind, of Reese laying bruised, bloody, and beaten, as Scarecrow stood over her triumphantly.

" _What happened to your girlfriend, Nightwing_?" the mind-Crane hissed in Dick's head. " _Were you too late? Just like the first time, you're not enough! Kaldur was always the one for Reese, everyone knows it. Even her..._"

"No!" Dick cried out, and before he could do anything, Reese's eyes snapped open and she sat up with a cough, and Nightwing let out a sigh of relief. "You okay, Argent?" he asked quietly as Reese stood up, rubbing her head.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said quietly before her eyes widened. "Nightwing look out!" she pushed Dick down to the ground, and as he looked up, Nightwing saw a conscious henchman standing behind them, holding a massive gun and pointing it straight at Reese.

The man pulled the trigger, and everything went red.

Reese 

Reese was thrown back from the force of the shot as the bullet thudded into her shoulder. In her commline, she could hear the rest of the Team crying out, and the Bioship de-camouflaged above her. M'gann floated down, and in her darkening vision, Reese saw the fear on her Martian friend's face.

"Silver? Reese, you have to stay awake!" Miss Martian's voice was going in and out of Reese's mind, and Reese was finding it difficult to focus on the sound. There was a blur, and suddenly Wally and Artemis were standing next to M'gann, their faces white as a sheet.

"The bullet must have nicked an artery," Wally said. "That's a  _lot_ of blood,"

"Where's the nearest Zeta tube?" Artemis asked, and Wally gestured off to the side. 

"About six miles that way. We can't take her there yet, though. We need to cauterize this wound," There was a dull thud a few meters away, and as Wally hoisted Reese so her arm hung over his shoulder, Silver X's eyes landed on Nightwing, who was standing over the now-unconscious man who shot her, hair disheveled. Another thud announced the arrival of Superboy, and through Reese's fading vision, she saw Conner putting one of the shields he got from Lex Luthor on his upper arm.

"Superboy!" she heard Dick cry out. "What are you doing!" Conner's eyes, which were a glowing red, landed on Reese's shoulder.

"I'm cauterizing her wound," was the CADMUS clone's simple answer, before Reese's eyes widened as she realized what he was about to do. When the twin heat beams hit the skin on Reese's shoulder, she screamed in anguish.

The last thing Reese saw before she fell unconscious was the worried faces of Nightwing and Kid Flash, as Wally carried both of them over to the Zeta tube, in order to get Reese back to the infirmary in time.

**Recognized Nightwing B01, Kid Flash B03, Silver X B10**

Then, everything went black.

**Mount Justice; December 14th, 00:50 EST**

Reese cracked an eyelid open, but quickly shut it when she was blinded by the fluorescent lights that were hanging from the ceiling. Wait, the  _ceiling_? The last thing Reese remembered was interrogating the Riccis, Interpol, the convoy exploding, then pushing Dick out of the way of that one henchman. After that, nothing.

"Ugh, what happened?" Reese said quietly before there was a thunder of footsteps, and Wally and Artemis ran into the room, relief prominent on their faces.

"Thank god!" Artemis cried, throwing her arms around Reese, careful to mind Reese's now-bandaged shoulder. "When you pushed Dick out of the way, we all thought you were dead!" Reese hugged her back hesitantly, but let go after a few seconds. She looked around and noticed that Dick Grayson wasn't in the infirmary with them.

"Where's Nightwing?" she asked quietly, and Wally shrugged.

"Getting chewed out by Batman for making the guy who shot you look like he was hit with a meat tenderizer.  _Multiple_ times. They should be in the common room," With Reese using Artemis as support, Reese, Wally, and Artemis headed out of the infirmary and into the common room, where they found Dick sitting in one of the armchairs where Black Canary usually did her therapy sessions, dressed in civvies with his always-present sunglasses covering his face, while Batman stood in front of him, the worst Batglare Reese had ever seen on the Dark Knight's face.

The glass door was cracked open a bit, so Reese, Wally, and Artemis were able to hear what they were saying. Though, due to the volume of Batman's shouts, Reese was thinking that you would be able to hear the vigilante's arguments from anywhere in the mountain.

"Eighty- _seven_ broken bones," Bruce was saying. "A fractured pelvis, left clavicle, _right_ clavicle, and _all_ of the phalanges, to name a few. What the  _hell_ were you thinking?" Dick sunk lower in his chair and looked up at Batman over the tops of his sunglasses, his eyes seeming to flicker with blue flames.

"Tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing," Nightwing said quietly. "Tell me, if you were in my shoes, you wouldn't have done the _exact_ same thing I did?" Batman ran a hand over his face and shook his head.

"I wouldn't have," he said quietly before turning to face Dick again. "Until further notice, you are  _off_ this Team. Until you can learn to control your temper, I am taking you  _off_." Before Artemis or Wally could stop her, Reese had burst into the room, startling both Nightwing and Batman.

"What?" she cried. "You can't do that! Nightwing is a valued member of this Team. Sure, he made a mistake, we all do! Hell, I  _killed_ someone, and you didn't kick  _me_ off!" 

"She has a point," Wally said, as he and Artemis cam to stand next to Reese. "I was there when Reese killed Wilmer.  _Nightwing_ was the one who calmed Silver X down enough to let Reese back in control." Bruce sighed.

"How much did you guys hear?" he asked, and Artemis gestured to the now-wide-open door.

"The door was open, and Batman, you can't just kick Nightwing off for putting  _one_ measly bad guy in the hospital. We all would've done it if we were in his shoes," Batman sighed again, and Reese could see they were swaying him.

" _Fine_ ," he grumbled finally, before holding up two fingers. "I will give you guys  _two weeks_ to help Nightwing control his temper, but if you don't you are  _all_ on probation," Reese and Dick both froze and glanced at each other as Batman swiftly left the therapy room. Probation. With  _Aqualad_.

"Where's everybody else?" Reese asked after a moment of silence. Wally shrugged.

"Last time I checked they were somewhere over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. That was a few hours ago, though." Reese went through the mental geography in her head, then grabbed Dick's hand and dragged him into the cave.

"So they should probably be coming in right...about...now." As she said that, the cave's docking bay door opened and the Bioship flew in. Once it landed the rest of the Team surrounded Reese, Artemis, Wally, and Dick, and wrapped Reese up in a big group hug, all of them were relieved that their shape-shifter was okay,  _or_ that Nightwing wasn't getting kicked off the Team. Well,  _almost_ all of them.

Reese stiffened as she felt a cool, webbed hand against her back. Looking up, Reese met the pale green eyes of Kaldur, and the Atlantean gave her a grave look.

"We need to talk," he said quietly, and Reese nodded.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Yeah, we do." Kaldur led Reese away from the Team, and just before they entered the hallway, Reese caught Dick's eye, and she couldn't help but notice Nightwing's frightened look.

When they were both out of sight _and_ out of earshot of the rest of the Team, Kaldur turned to Reese.

"Where _were_ you, ángelos?" he asked quietly, and Reese flinched. "Where did Nightwing find you?" Reese went over her thoughts in her head. She couldn't very well tell Kaldur that Dick had found her, captive and a prisoner, in Nanda Parbat, at the mercy of the League of Shadows, could she?

"I...I was in Nairobi," she said finally, the lie rolling quite easily off her tongue. She didn't need Kaldur knowing that she had been kidnapped by Ra's al Ghul, or that Dick had gotten himself kidnapped as well, by  _Kallik_ no less.

"Nairobi?" Kaldur echoed. "You were in Kenya?" Reese nodded, mentally praying that Kaldur wouldn't figure out her lie. 

"Why didn't you try and look for me?" she asked quietly, somehow already knowing the answer. She just hoped Kaldur wouldn't lie to her about it.

"Nobody knew where you  _were_ , Reese. If I had known-" Reese cut him off.

"Dick knew where I was," she said simply, and Kaldur shook his head. 

"It took Nightwing more than two months to find you. And he  _didn't_ know where you were. Red Arrow,  _Roy_ , was the one who told Dick that Silver X was in Kathmandu," Reese, who had been walking away, heading back towards the cave, froze at Aqualad's words.

"What did you say?" she asked quietly. 

"Red Arrow was the one who told Nightwing where you were?" Reese shook her head.

"No, the location. How did you know that Roy had told you that I was in Kathmandu?" Kaldur chuckled, and to Reese, it sounded a bit menacing, and her thoughts flew through her mind at lightning speed. "You were spying on me!" she cried, and Kaldur's eyes shot up to meet her own.

"Excuse me?" he asked, sounding a bit offended. " _I_ wasn't the one who was lied to!  _I_ wasn't the one who killed an innocent man!" As soon as he said that, Kaldur seemed to realize what he had said, and he stepped forward as if to comfort Reese, but the damage had already been done. Reese took a few steps back, and her eyes were rapidly going from silver to brown to silver, in a rapidly increasing pattern as Reese struggled to stay in control.

" _Innocent man_?" she growled, stepping forward until she was nose-to-nose with Aqualad. "Anthony Wilmer was  _not_ an innocent man. He teamed up with Jonathan Crane and  _kidnapped_ me! They almost killed me!"

"And you ended up killing him," Kaldur shot back, and Reese flinched, her eyes finally settling on a dull brown, nothing like her usual fiery self.

"You think I don't know that?" she whispered. "You think that my actions didn't  _haunt_ me, for a  _year_? The  _entire_ time I was gone, I had nightmares, of the things that happened. Only this time? It wasn't Wilmer I was killing, it was all of  _you_. Nightwing, the Team, Robin,  _Lauren_. In my dreams, I killed all of  _them_. But you wouldn't know would you?" she asked. "All you cared about, was getting back at Dick for making me leave." Kaldur flinched, and he hung his head.

"I have apologized for my actions,  _multiple_ times, ángelos," Reese stepped back again and held up a hand.

"Don't call me that," she said quietly. "Not anymore. And your 'apology'? It doesn't excuse what you did. Dick was in a coma, for  _three. Months._ How do you think Bruce and Jason felt about that? Right after I had left, without a word to anybody, and then you come along and almost  _kill_ him. I can't _do_ this anymore, Kaldur,"

"What are you saying, Reese?" Kaldur's voice was quiet, and Reese prepared herself for what she was about to say next.

"I'm saying I can't be your girlfriend anymore, Kaldur'ahm. If you are willingly going to put your teammates, your  _friends_ in danger, I don't want to be a part of that relationship." Kaldur tilted his head.

"What about Nightwing? What about what happened tonight in Rome?" Reese sighed.

"He was  _protecting_ me." She started to walk away again but stopped when she was a few meters away from Kaldur. Turning around, she looked him dead in the eye as she spoke.

"You may be in charge of this team, Aqualad," she said quietly. "But you're no leader. I'll stay on the Team because I my friends are here, but from now on, you and I? We're  _only_ teammates. Maybe friends. Nothing more," With that, Reese turned fully away from Aqualad and walked back into the cave, where the rest of the Team was waiting with Batman, a file open on the holo-computer in front of them.

' _Everything okay_ _?'_  M'gann asked over a direct mind-link, and Reese gave a small nod. 

' _Everything's good. Kaldur and I aren't dating anymore, but I don't want the Team to overreact about it_.' Miss Martian gave her a small smile.

' _You mean you don't want Nightwing overreacting about it_.' Reese gave a small smile herself as she glanced up at the holo-computers.

' _Is it that obvious?_ _Please don't tell him_.' M'gann gave her a soft smile, and Reese was instantly grateful for her Martian friend's empathy.

' _You have my word, Reese. I will give you one piece of advice though.'_ Reese tilted her head.

' _And what is that?'_ she asked.

' _Tell Nightwing how you feel soon. I'm pretty sure the only one not shipping you two is Aqualad._' Reese gave a chuckle before she froze. 

"Argent, what is it?" Dick's voice jerked Reese from her thoughts, and she looked up to find Nightwing staring at her, worry etched on his face. Reese pointed towards the holo-computer, her finger shaking.

"Tell me that isn't what I think it is," she said quietly, and Batman set a calm hand on Reese's shoulder.

"I am aware that you just got back, Reese, but this requires your expertise," Reese gave a small nod and looked towards Bruce again.

"What do I have to do?" she asked. Batman swiped a few things on the file, then turned to Reese again. 

"How do you feel about an undercover operation?"


	5. Chapter 4...Nightmares & Doppelgängers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An intruder at the cave puts everyone on high alert, especially Reese, Dick, and Batman. Reese then returns to the Manor and has a nightmare, prompting Dick to go into her bedroom to comfort her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's kind of a filler/not-sure-where-I'm-going-to-go-with-this. i.e. a doozy. And considering I wrote 4,300 words in one day, I hope it turned out well.
> 
> I am also a major Wonderbat shipper, so don't be surprised if that somehow comes into play in later books.  
> *cough*Golden Guard*cough*

**Mount Justice; December 14th 01:30 EST**

Reese

Reese stared at Bruce in shock. Her? An undercover operation? Reese wasn't the most stealthy of the Team, that honor obviously went to Nightwing, but the fact that Batman seemed to trust Silver X enough to send her undercover into hell knows what? That was something Reese knew she'd never give up.

"What's the mission?" she asked once she'd gotten over the initial shock. Bruce gave a minute smirk, then turned back to the holo-computer. 

"After the events in Rome tonight," he started and Reese and Dick both flinched. 'Events in Rome' was a gross understatement. It was unlikely either of them would forget it anytime soon. "The Justice League took it upon themselves to protect Celeste Ricci, whom I believe truly had no prior understanding to her father or twin's motives," 

"Where's Celeste now?" Dick asked, and Bruce pulled up a file showing what looked like CCTV footage from a modest house in a suburb. Outside was an unassuming red sedan, but Reese subconsciously knew there was more to the scenario than meets the eye.

"She's been put under the Witness Protection Program in Washington D.C. Wonder Woman will be watching over her for the time being," Reese gave a small nod, mentally warming herself up to the idea of going undercover into a seedy operation for who knows how long. She caught Nightwing's side-glance, and Reese interpreted the look as heavily disapproving.

"There is absolutely  _no_ way that you will be going undercover, Reese," Dick said firmly, with finality. "I won't allow it," at his words, Reese tensed. Who was he to tell her what to do? Dick must have picked up on the rageful brain waves Reese was sending his way because Nightwing's mask lenses widened and he ran a hand over his face. "Argent, you know that wasn't what I meant," Reese took a step back and turned to face Dick, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Wasn't it though?" At some point in their argument, the rest of the Team had left the cave, while Bruce was currently looking over some other files on the holo-computer, obviously trying to pretend that he wasn't listening.

"Reese, if you go undercover as Celeste Ricci into the Sporellis, do you know what that means?" Reese clenched her eyes shut behind her domino mask, and tried not to lose control. Dick had a point, she knew. If Reese were to become Celeste, that would also mean she'd have to be "betrothed" to Guiliano Sporelli, and that was something she  _wasn't_ looking forward to. But, if that was what the mission required, then so be it.

"I do, Bluebird," she snapped quietly. "But if pretending to be betrothed to a playboy is what it means to keep Celeste safe, then I need to do whatever it takes. Nobody else will die because of me," Reese had sent the last sentence almost silently, but Nightwing caught it anyway. He'd been about to leave, probably going to train to let off some steam, but at Reese's words, he froze.

As he turned back around, Reese caught the sympathetic look on Dick's face, and she hated it. She didn't need his  _sympathy_ , Reese herself pitied herself on a daily basis anyway. She didn't need to worry about anyone else.

"Argent, what happened to Leo wasn't your fault. He chose to help his father and Sporelli Senior escape. You didn't do anything to help them did you?" As he walked closer, Reese clenched her jaw to keep the tears from falling. She'd thought she had stopped crying, after those first few months of nightmares and crying herself to sleep after she had left for France.

"I didn't try to stop them either," her voice was quiet, and for a second Reese didn't think Dick had heard her, but when a pair of muscled arms wrapped around her torso, Reese turned around to see Nightwing gazing at her with a soft smile on his face.

"Everyone makes mistakes, Argent," he said quietly, using his thumb to wipe away Reese's few tears that had escaped her eyes and were slowly falling down her cheeks. "It's part of being a hero. Nobody's perfect. Not even Batman," Reese knew that even Bruce Wayne was  _far_ from perfect, but she appreciated Nightwing's sentiment.

"Thanks, Bluebird," she said quietly, before turning around fully and wrapping her arms around Dick's waist. As she hugged him, Reese suddenly realized how much she had missed Nightwing's comfort when she was gone. As she looked up, Reese suddenly noticed just how close together she and Nightwing were. If she were to tilt her head only a _few_ inches to the right, she'd be close enough to kiss him.

Was that what she wanted? It wouldn't be the first time, of course, but so soon after she had broken up with Kaldur? Her heart said that she did. Reese tilted her head to the side until Nightwing's lips were mere millimeters from hers.

"Argent?" Dick's voice was a whisper, and it made Reese's chest feel warm. "Are you sure?" Reese didn't answer, only stepped a half-inch closer. Dick's black-gloved hands moved their way to weave themselves into Reese's dark brown hair, which had come loose from its braid, and Reese was practically buzzing with anticipation.

But, just as Dick's lips brushed against hers, a strangely familiar voice cut through Reese's thoughts, startling her so much her eyes flew open and she stepped back with a gasp.

"Now, is that any way to act towards me, Argent?" There, leaning nonchalantly against the cave's stone wall, was no one else, but Richard Grayson. Reese and Dick stepped away from each other as if burnt, and each took out their respective weapons. Nightwing with his eskrima and Silver X with an extendable bō staff, that electrified if she pressed a certain button.

"Computer, lockdown cave," Bruce said briskly, cutting off Reese's concentration for a moment. She'd forgotten Batman was in the same room. As Bruce came to stand next to Reese and Dick, the imposter pushed off from the wall and began to stroll calmly towards them, fingers laced behind his head.

"Who are you?" Batman growled, and "Dick" opened his arms in a ta-da motion.

"Why, I'm Richard Grayson, of course!" he cried, and Reese made to step forward as if to investigate further, but Nightwing stopped her.

"No," Dick said softly, still shielding Reese with his arm. "You're not," the doppelgänger shrugged his shoulders and gave a small smirk that made Reese shiver with the sense of Déjà vu it was giving off. Two Dick Graysons in the same room? Reese could only wonder who would snap first.

"You're right," the imposter said smoothly, still smirking, and Reese was surprised. Was he just going to admit he was an imposter? Just like that? "I'm not. Doesn't mean I can't have some fun," Suddenly, an appendage made of thick brown earth jutted out from where the doppelgänger's arm would be, and thudded into Reese's chest, throwing her across the cave. There was only one villain Reese knew of that was able to do things like that, and she was definitely  _not_ a fan.

" _Clayface_ ," Batman growled again as the former Matthew Hagen lost Dick's appearance and shifted into the form of a young blond man. Reese was surprised, she hadn't known that the former Shadow was able to revert back to his human form.

" _Batman_ ," Hagen's voice mimicked that of Bruce's and it was quite disturbing, to be honest, like a strange echo. But, seeing as how Clayface's mud was slowly creeping up Reese's neck, towards her mouth and nose where it would eventually suffocate her, she had bigger problems to deal with. Like trying to get out of the mud, for example.

Glancing out of the corner of her eye to make sure that Hagen was occupied with Nightwing and Batman, Reese stealthily and silently slipped her staff between her fingers, and it extended with a ' _shink_ '. Unfortunately, it caught the attention of the three other heroes currently in the cave. When he saw Reese holding her bō, Clayface's face spread into a grin that would've been physically impossible if he wasn't able to manipulate the molecules in his "body".

"Now, now, Silver X," Clayface almost cooed. "I can't have you messing up my diabolical plans now, can I?" Without giving Reese a chance to answer, Hagen made the mud shoot up to wrap itself around Reese's wrist and put enough pressure on it to make Reese gasp in pain, and her fingers let go of her staff, where the metal pole slid across the floor before skidding to a stop at Nightwing's feet.

When she had gasped, the mud flowed into Reese's mouth, making her choke and splutter. There were batarangs and eskrima sticks flying at Clayface, but the mud monster just absorbed them before spitting them back towards Batman and Nightwing.

As black spots began to invade Reese's vision, she saw Dick sneaking up behind Hagen, Reese's bō staff in hand. Reese knew that if Dick were to electrify her staff, the voltage and amperage would probably be enough to incapacitate Clayface, but there was a high risk that Reese would get shocked along with Hagen. Reese could see Nightwing hesitating behind Clayface, so, with her last breaths, Reese wheezed out a few words.

"Do...it..." she managed to say, and Hagen's grin grew wider, him thinking she meant that Clayface could kill her.

"With pleasure m'lady," Hagen smirked. "I've wanted to silence this silver shifter for a while now," With unconsciousness lurking at the edge, Reese gave a small smirk.

"Not...talking...to...you," she said quietly, and Hagen's eyes widened, just as the aluminum alloy bō staff jutted through Clayface's mud-like chest, crackling with electricity. Clayface gave a guttural scream, and the electricity suddenly arced from his "body" to Reese's, and her eyes, which had been half-closed in exhaustion and suffocation, suddenly flew open as 100 volts of pure electricity ran itself through Reese's veins.

As a scream was building in the back of Reese's throat, Clayface melted into a brown, earthy puddle, and Dick was instantly at Reese's side as she dropped to the floor, coughing up the mud that had gotten into Reese's esophagus and trachea when Clayface had been choking her, and desperately hoping she wouldn't pass out from the amount of amperage still in her veins.

"Argent?" Nightwing's calm voice cut through the haze that was still clouding Reese's vision, and the teenage girl looked up to find Dick looking at her, a fearful look in his cerulean eyes. It took a few more moments before Reese could catch her breath, but when she did, she threw her arms around Dick's neck and hugged Nightwing as tight as she could.

Dick tilted his head so his nose was buried in Reese's hair as he wrapped his arms tight around her torso, and Reese felt Nightwing give a shaky breath as Bruce put Clayface in an airtight container so he couldn't escape. When Batman left to bring Hagen back to Arkham Asylum, Dick leaned back, but then pressed his forehead against Reese's.

"I thought he had killed you," Dick said quietly. "I thought you were gone, and I haven't been that scared since..." he trailed off, and Reese didn't need to be a mind-reader to know what he was talking about. A year ago, when Scarecrow had kidnapped Reese and held her in Gotham City's morgue. One of the only times Reese had truly lost control over the Silver X that was currently running through her veins, merging her own human DNA with that of various powerful, dangerous animals. The event that had made her leave in the first place

"It's okay," she said quietly, tightening her hold ever so slightly. "I'm okay," Before Dick could say anything else, Kid Flash skidded into the main cave, the rest of the Team not far behind. Nightwing and Silver X jumped back from each other, quickly dusting imaginary dirt from their suits.

"Whoa," Artemis said as she caught sight of Reese covered head-to-toe in icky brown muck. "What happened to you?" Reese gave a small shrug.

"Clayface broke into the cave and tried to kill me," she said simply, and the Team gasped before they all started talking at once.

"Are you okay?"

Why didn't you tell us over the mind-link or something?"

"I would've been fast enough to take him, you should've called."

"Pssh, my arrows would've been faster than even you, Baywatch."

"Where is Clayface now?" Aqualad was the one who spoke the final question, and both Reese and Dick's heads snapped up to meet the Atlantean's stone-like gaze.

"Batman took him back to Arkham," Nightwing said simply. Abrupt and to the point, if not a bit chilly. "He's going to try and make sure Clayface doesn't escape again. In the meantime, he wants us to step up security here at the mountain to make sure nobody else will be able to break in," Aqualad gave a stiff nod, and Reese heaved a sigh of relief that nothing would escalate too quickly. Reese swayed on her feet as the adrenaline from the previous encounter with Clayface faded, leaving her physically and mentally exhausted.

Stifling a yawn, Reese made her way to the zeta tube, startling the rest of the Team.

"Argent, where are you going?" Nightwing asked quietly, and Reese waved a hand.

"I'm  _exhausted_ , Nightwing. I haven't had a good night's sleep in a month. I deserve a hot shower and at least get  _some_ amount of shut-eye," Reese knew that Dick couldn't really argue with her on that, and from the look on Nightwing's face, she was right.

"Fine," he grumbled, giving in. "But only because I don't want you to get sleep-deprived and sick," Reese gave Dick a tired-looking smirk and placed a hand on her cocked hip.

"Bluebird, I'm  _already_ sleep-deprived," With that, she punched in the coordinates for the Bat-cave, and the zeta tube lit up with a golden glow.

**Recognized Silver X B10**

Dick

When Reese was gone, Wally's voice jerked Dick from his thoughts.

" 'Already sleep-deprived'?" Wally asked, and Nightwing subconsciously tensed. "Nightwing, what was she talking about?" Dick had already told the Team, minus Aqualad, about where he and Reese had been, League of Shadows-wise, but what they _didn't_ know was that Reese had been Ra's al Ghul's prisoner for an entire month  _before_ Dick had found her in Pakistan.

"Nothing," he said briskly, leaving no room for argument. "She meant nothing," he  _really_ didn't want to have this conversation right now, so instead of being subjected to a Kid Flash interrogation, where Wally tried to act like a cop from those TV shows, Nightwing instead opted to step into the zeta tube himself, not giving anyone a chance to follow him.

**Recognized Nightwing B01**

Inside the Batcave, it was dark, and for a moment Dick couldn't see anything, but when he did (a dark figure standing on the staircase up to Wayne Manor) Nightwing whipped out his eskrima sticks and leveled them at the would-be intruder, before he lowered them at the sound of a slightly disapproving English-accented voice.

"Master Dick, I do hope you weren't planning on throwing those blasted things at me. Not when  _I_ was the one who bought your plane ticket in the first place," Dick gave a small chuckle before hugging Alfred as hard as he could. God, he'd missed the British butler.

"Sorry, Alfred. Guess I'm just tired." Alfred only "hmphed" in response, but he wasn't currently depriving Dick of cookies, so that was something. Speaking of deprivation... "Have you seen Reese?" he asked, and Alfred gave a little sort of smile that made Dick want to run up to his room to avoid the conversation.

"Miss Reese went to take a hot shower a few minutes before you arrived, Master Dick," Alfred said, before setting the tray he was carrying onto the Batcomputer's desk. "And I advise you to get some rest before you have to get up for school in..." he glanced at his bare wrist before looking back up at Dick with the barest traces of a smirk on his face. "less than four hours," Dick groaned, but complied anyway because honestly? Who wanted to disobey  _Alfred_?

After he'd showered, Dick stepped into a pair of sweatpants and a faded t-shirt before slipping under the covers of his bed. As he laced his fingers behind his head, Dick stared at his ceiling, going over the events of the past couple days in his head.

Going to Nepal...

Getting kidnapped by Kallik...

Waking up in Nanda Parbat...

Finding Reese...

Choking Ra's al Ghul...that one had been  _particularly_ satisfying...

Returning to Mount Justice...

Getting sent to Rome...

Almost losing Reese... _again_...

Kaldur...

The twins...

Faraday and the Interpol convoy...

Reese getting shot...

The henchman's eighty-seven broken bones that had been in Dick's retaliation _after_ Reese had been shot...

Getting yelled at by Bruce, with Reese coming in to defend him...

The threat of probation...

The almost-kiss...

Clayface...

Dick groaned again and turned onto his side, where his eyes caught the glint of metal. He sat up and picked up Reese's Carpe Diem medallion from where it lay on his nightstand. The thin chain glittered in the December moonlight, and Dick heaved a sigh. He really should return this to Reese, now that she was back. It was too late now, he rationed, she was probably already asleep.

In the morning, Dick decided as he lay back down, the medallion clutched tightly in his fist. He'd return the medallion to Reese in the morning...

**Wayne Manor; December 14th, 04:30 EST**

Two hours later Dick's eyes flew open as a shrill cry rang throughout the manor. He was the lightest sleeper in the house, and that was saying something, considering he'd slept through a thunderstorm once that had rattled the windows of the Manor, and he hadn't even known about it until the next morning when Alfred had told him at breakfast.

This wasn't a crack of thunder though, this was a scream. A scream full of fear. And it was coming from Reese's room.

Dick flew out of his bed, leaving the covers in a pile on the floor, and sprinted almost as fast as Wally into Reese's own bedroom, which was just across the hall from his. Inside, he found the girl writhing on her bed, long hair fanned out across her pillow, while there was a sheen of sweat on her forehead. For a moment, Dick paused, because for a mere millisecond Reese had looked like the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

Then, reality had decided to butt in and rear its ugly head.

"Argent?" Dick asked quietly, but his only response was a small whimper, as Reese straight-up exhausted herself from whatever had been in that nightmare. Dick knew you weren't supposed to wake up sleepwalkers, but he didn't know if the same rule applied to nightmares. 

Deciding to risk it, Dick kneeled down by the side of the bed, and gently reached out and shook Reese's shoulder, trying to wake her up, which then resulted in Reese's dark brown eyes flying open and her almost flying off the bed and pinning Dick to the ground. The former acrobat was so shocked by the action that he wasn't able to fight back. Not that he would have anyway. After a few seconds, Reese's nightmare-clouded eyes cleared, and she looked down at Dick, who was still trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

"Dick?" Reese whispered, and, despite the grim situation, Nightwing gave her a smirk.

"Hey," he said, before running his eyes over Reese's body to make sure she hadn't hurt herself. That was what he'd told himself anyway. "Quite a compromising position we're in, aren't we?" Reese was basically straddling Dick's waist, with her forearm pressed against the base of his throat, and her hair, which had now grown to mid-back, was hanging over a single shoulder and tickling Dick's nose. When she realized how they were sitting, Reese's face turned as red as Wally's hair, making Dick's grin grow wider. 

She quickly picked herself up, before extending a hand to help Dick stand. Nightwing took it gratefully, and he led Reese to the end of the bed, where he sat down, pulling Reese down to sit next to him.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked after a few minutes of companionable silence. When Reese glanced at him, confused, he clarified. "Your nightmare. Do you want to talk about it?" Reese leaned forward and braced her forearms on her knees, before taking a deep breath.

"We were back in the morgue..." she started, but then trailed off. Dick had tensed but set a comforting hand on Reese's tank top-clad back, and after a few moments, she continued. "We were back in the morgue. You, me, Wilmer, Jason, and Lauren. At first, everything started out the same. After I...killed...Wilmer though, that's where everything went dark. This time, you didn't comfort me, you didn't let me take back control," her head whipped towards Dick, and Nightwing was shocked to see tears glistening in Reese's eyes.

"You called me a  _monster_ , Bluebird," her voice was almost a whisper, but Dick caught it anyway, and his muscles tensed even more as Reese continued, the tears beginning to stream down her face. "You called me a monster, and I ended up killing you because of it, then Jason, then Lauren. Richard, I killed  _all of them_ ," Without even thinking, Dick wrapped his arms around Reese's shoulders and tugged her close to him, pressing his nose into the back of her head.

"You are  _not_ a monster, Rhysalin. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise," Reese pulled away and looked Dick dead in the eye, and Dick suddenly realized that he had said Reese's full name. No one knew what it was, aside from Reese herself, obviously, and most likely Lauren. But, before she could say anything about it, Dick held up a hand.

"I live with Batman, the most paranoid man in the entire world. You can't expect me to  _not_ find out what your full name is, Rhysalin Blaire Devon Michaels...the third." Reese let out a short laugh, and Dick smiled, glad that he had cheered her up.

"Well, Richard John Grayson, care to tell me what  _else_ you've found out about my family?" Dick gave a small chuckle before standing up and using his hand on Reese's shoulder to gently push her back onto the bed.

"I would love to," he said. "But you, Rhysalin, need sleep, and I don't want a crabby and sleep-deprived shape-shifter around Mount Justice," Just as he was turning away to leave, Dick felt a slender hand wrap around his wrist.

"Wait," she said quietly, and Dick looked down to find Reese gazing at him with an unreadable look in her eyes. "Stay here, just until I fall asleep, okay? I don't want any more nightmares, and with you here I don't think they'll come," Dick gave a small nod, his cheeks a light pink before Reese pulled back her light blue-and-silver comforter and he climbed into the bed next to her.

"You sure you're okay?" Dick asked quietly, and Reese gave a nod before she shifted closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. 

"I'm fine. Thanks, Bluebird," After a couple seconds, Reese's breathing changed, and Dick knew she was finally asleep. Pressing his lips to Reese's temple, he wrapped his arms around her and tugged her closer, not letting anything get in the way of them. Except for clothes, of course, he wasn't  _that_ insane. As Dick gave into Hypnos, he vowed that as long as he was alive,  _nothing_ would ever take Reese away from him.  _Nobody_ would ever take Reese away from him.

**\-------**

The next morning, when Alfred came in to wake up Miss Reese, imagine the surprise on the former MI-6 agent's face when he found Master Dick coiled tightly around the girl, both of them sound asleep. Alfred, of course, knew about Reese's nightmares, and he had been about to start making breakfast for Bruce when he'd heard Reese's scream, and had been about to go and comfort the girl when he'd heard a pair of footsteps run quickly down the hall, from a room just across perhaps, and the screams stopped. After, Alfred had decided not to interfere

"Alfred, what is it?" Bruce Wayne asked as he tugged on his tie, trying to get ready for the new day at Wayne Enterprises. Alfred beckoned his surrogate son forward and both men looked into Reese's room at the scene before them. From the corner of his eye, Alfred saw Bruce's lip twitch, as if the man was holding back a smile.

"It is quite charming, is it not, Master Bruce?" The Dark Knight only 'hmphed' in response, but Alfred could that the Batman's impenetrable shell had cracked, if only the tiniest bit.

"I suppose," Bruce said finally, and Alfred counted that as progress...until Bruce kept talking. "Now, wake them up. I need to brief Reese on her undercover mission into the Sporellis, and Dick has school," with that, Batman walked briskly down the hall, while Alfred only shook his head fondly.

'Just you wait, Master Bruce,' he thought to himself as he softly walked into Reese's bedroom to wake the two slumbering teens up. 'I bet you won't be saying that once you yourself find someone to love indefinitely. In fact...' his thoughts trailed off as Alfred thought of a certain raven-haired Themysciran. 'I think you already have.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been learning about circuits, voltage, amperage, etc. in Physics, so that's kind of where I came up with how Reese was in danger of being electrocuted herself, instead of Clayface.
> 
> The next chapter takes place during Christmas, so I'll try to get it up by then. Note: there will be a lot of stuff happening during the Christmas chapter, so if I DON'T get it up before the 25th, I am sooooo sorry.


	6. Chapter 5...A Dead Worm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas time, and Reese finally confronts Luke Racer about what he did to her in Central City and Coast City in the past. But, after Shadows break into Mount Justice when everyone else, except for Reese, Jason, and Luke, are at Happy Harbor's Holiday Festival, will Reese save the Leech? Or will she let him die?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's a day late, but Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody! Prepare for a chapter that is super-duper long! Think of it as my (late) Christmas present to you! The next chapter is New Year's and that's the defining point of Reese and Dick's relationship.

**Wayne Manor; December 24th, 06:45 EST**

Reese

Over the next week, Reese quickly settled back into a routine at Wayne Manor with Dick, Bruce, Alfred, Jason, and...Lauren. The confrontation between the two Michaels sisters the morning after Reese's nightmare had been emotional, for everyone involved. Reese was also pretty sure she'd even seen Alfred shed a few tears.

\--------

_Reese blinked her eyes open, only to be greeted with Dick Grayson's sleeping face mere inches from hers, his muscled arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She lay in shock for a moment, before the events from last night flooded back into her mind, and she relaxed back into her bed with a sigh._

_The nightmares. They'd come back. Reese's nights had been quiet for the past month, but that was only because she'd been locked up in Nanda Parbat, at the mercy of the League of Shadows, who thought it would be a good idea to try and test her pain tolerance while injecting her with various stimuli, similar to Crane's fear toxin. Ha, jokes on them. Her tolerance for pain had already been reached the first time Scarecrow had kidnapped her._

_"Good morning, Miss Reese," a calm British voice cut into Reese's thoughts and the girl looked up to find Alfred standing in the doorway, a small smirk dancing across his lips. Reese gave a small chuckle and quickly extracted herself from Dick, who only shifted a bit before falling back asleep. "I trust you slept well?"_ _Reese swung her legs over the side of the bed before standing and walking towards Alfred._

_"Better than I have in a long time," she stopped in front of Bruce Wayne's butler and hesitated for a moment before she wrapped her arms around Alfred and hugged him. "I missed you, Alfred," she said quietly. After a moment, Alfred hugged Reese back._

_"I missed you too, Miss Reese. You said you had trouble sleeping?" And just like that, the moment was broken. Reese stepped back and looked at Alfred skeptically._

_"Yeah," she said simply, before glancing at him from the corner of her eye. "Nightmares. They started not long after I left," Alfred nodded in what Reese realized to be understanding. He led Reese out of her bedroom and down the stairs._

_In the kitchen, Reese sat down on one of the barstools and watched as Alfred went about his morning routine, making coffee and hot chocolate, along with flipping several blueberry pancakes onto a serving plate. It was silent for several minutes before Bruce Wayne's butler spoke._

_"Master Dick has nightmares too, you know?" Reese's head shot up. Dick had nightmares? As if sensing her silent question, Alfred abandoned the pancake griddle and turned to fully face Reese. "They started not long after you left," he began, and Reese internally winced. Of course, it would be her fault that Nightwing started to have nightmares. She could only wonder though, what they had been about._

_The clobbering of feet down the stairs alerted Reese and Alfred to the arrival of the other inhabitants of Wayne Manor and interrupted before Reese could say anything more about Nightwing's nightmares. First, Reese was almost knocked off her barstool by Jason, who buried his head into her shoulder and gave a big grin._

_"I still can't believe you came home," he whispered, before taking a few pancakes off of the platter, grabbing a bottle of syrup, then sitting at the table to begin to dig into his breakfast. Next, it was Bruce, who was already dressed in a suit and tie for a busy day at Wayne Enterprises and only grabbed a travel mug full of black coffee before he was out the door. Reese knew that Batman was supposed to brief her on the Sporelli/Ricci mission, but if he was just going to leave like that..._

_Bruce walked back into the kitchen and pointed a single finger at Reese._

_"New Year's," he said simply before he walked out the door again. Reese glanced at Alfred again from the corner of her eye, but the butler only shrugged before he went back to mixing pancake batter. Reese went to take a sip of her hot cocoa, but a pair of arms encircled her waist and she was suddenly tugged off of the barstool. Reese choked and spluttered as the burning cocoa sped down the wrong pipe in her throat, but she was coherent enough to hear Alfred's scolding voice as she tried to catch her breath._

_"Master Dick! What have I told you about sneaking up behind people?" There was a nervous chuckle behind her before the hands on her waist let go and Dick's face entered her line of vision, his cerulean eyes looking concerned._

_"Oops," he said quietly, before glancing at Alfred's frowning face. "Sorry, Alfred," the butler only 'hmphed' and gestured towards Reese, who was now glaring at Dick, arms crossed._

_"It's not me you should be apologizing to," he said before bringing a bowl of fruit out to the table for Jason, and Reese saw Dick wince. When he turned towards her, Reese stared at Nightwing with an expectant look on her face._

_"Sorry?" he said, and Reese scoffed and rolled her eyes and looked away, pretending not to forgive him. From the corner of her eye, Reese saw Dick's face fall, and she almost felt sorry for pranking him. Almost, but not quite. "Reese? Argent, please talk to me. Look, I'm sorry about the hot chocolate, I didn't know you were going to be taking a drink when I scared you. Please, I promise I won't do it again. Reese... why are you laughing?" Reese had started giggling halfway through Dick's apology, and now she was full-on cackling, not unlike Dick's own laugh from back when he was Robin._

_"I-I'm sorry, Bluebird," Reese gasped out between chuckles, clasping the sides of the granite island to keep from losing her balance. "But, your face was absolutely priceless," Now it was Dick's turn to cross his arms, but there were the barest traces of a smirk on his lips, and Reese could see he was struggling to hold in his own smile._

_"So, you enjoy watching me suffer?" he asked jokingly, and Reese rolled her eyes again in retaliation._

_"Oh, Richard, you have absolutely no idea." To Reese's surprise, Dick's cheeks turned a bright, cherry red as a furious blush fired its way across his face. Before she could say anything about, a faint squeak caught both teens' attention, and Reese turned to see her now almost-eleven-year-old sister standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a stricken look on her face. Reese saw Dick's face lose its teasing gleam, but she was too preoccupied with watching Lauren's movements to notice Nightwing come to stand almost protectively behind her, ready to intervene if things got messy._

_"Reese?" Lauren's voice was barely more than a faint whisper as if it physically hurt Lauren to say it. Reese glanced up from where she was staring at the countertop to meet her sister's leaf-green eyes, which were now brimming with tears. "Reese, is it really you?" Reese felt herself give a small nod, but she still felt like she was watching the exchange through someone else's eyes._

_"I'm here, Ren," she said quietly. "I'm home." suddenly, Reese was knocked off the barstool and onto the cold tile floor as Lauren tackled her older sister in a big hug, tears streaming down her cheeks. Reese felt her own tears begin to brim as she wrapped her arms tightly around Lauren's torso as the saltwater droplets threatened to fall._

After a few seconds, Lauren stood up, and her eyes were practically bursting with the tears _that_ _hadn't_ _fallen. Reese stood up herself, and for a few seconds, the two sisters just stared at each other before Lauren spoke._

_"Why'd you leave?" Lauren's voice was quiet, and Reese had to strain to catch it. When she did, the tears threatened to begin all over again. Reese's face fell, and she knelt down in front of Lauren so the two girls were eye-to-eye._

_"Lauren, I'm so sorry I left, truly I am, but I had to. I was too unpredictable, I didn't want to risk accidentally hurting you, Dick, Jason...anybody. I didn't want a repeat of Wilmer, trust me, Ren, that is the last thing that I wanted to happen. If I were able to bring you with me, I would have, I promise," Lauren still looked a bit skeptical, and Reese pulled out her secret weapon, which wasn't much of a weapon, or a secret, to be honest, just something she knew Lauren would find exciting._

_Leaning close to her sister's ear, Reese whispered inside it._

_"Did I tell you that I saw the Colosseum?" Lauren's eyes widened, and Reese grinned. Because of their Bulgarian heritage, Reese's little sister had taken it upon herself to know almost everything there was to know about the European countries the Michaels' family had vacationed to over the years. Italy and Sicily were her latest ventures._

_"Really?" Lauren's voice was excited now, and Reese counted that as progress. She nodded in response._

_"Yep, just last night too. The Team had a mission in Rome, and as we were flying over, I caught a glimpse of that Roman amphitheater," Lauren looked absolutely starstruck, and Reese mentally applauded herself for cheering up her little sister._

_"The mission?" Lauren asked suddenly as they were all sitting down at the breakfast table to eat some of the pancakes Alfred had made. Reese glanced up to see Lauren looking at her expectantly. "Did you accomplish it?" Reese glanced at Dick from the corner of her eye, only to see him staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face._

_How was she supposed to tell Lauren that she was about to go undercover into a major crime family for who knows how long, with almost no contact with the outside world? After a few minutes of silence, Reese took a deep breath before turning back to Lauren._

_"Yes," she said firmly. "We finished the mission."_

\-------

Now, it was Christmas Eve, and Reese couldn't be happier. Well, she  _could_ , if she were able to stop Dick from sneaking into her room every morning to wake her up and give her the now-daily Christmas countdown. Today was no different.

"Argent," a familiar voice whispered in Reese's ear, making her groan and burrow deeper into her blankets. "There is now currently seventeen hours and fifty-five minutes until Christmas, and I happen to know you haven't bought all your Christmas presents yet..." That woke Reese up. Mainly because Dick had a point. She  _hadn't_ bought any presents yet for anyone except Bruce, Lauren, Alfred, and Jason. She hadn't even bought Dick's present yet, and as the Bluebird had said, there are only seventeen hours and, well, now fifty-three, minutes until Christmas.

"Shit," Reese swore as she flipped the blankets up, only to be instantly greeted by the frigid air that came in through Reese's open window. Shivering, she slid on a pair of Christmas-patterned fuzzy socks and slid across her hardwood floor to close the window. Turning back to Dick, Reese gave him a pointed look. "Was it  _really_ necessary to open my window?" Dick glanced at the open window for a brief moment before he shrugged.

"I had to wake you up _somehow_ ," Reese rolled her eyes but noticed that Dick was looking strangely pale as if he was scared of something before she opened her closet to take out the outfit she'd picked out the night before. A hunter green sweater with dark red jeggings, a pair of white knee-high suede boots with silver accents, and a white knitted infinity scarf that had silver thread sewn through the loops as well. As she laid the outfit out on her bed, Reese turned back towards Dick, who had plopped himself on the leather couch in Reese's room.

"Are you going to leave so I can get dressed, or just watch me like a pervert?" Dick suddenly shot up, his face red as a holly berry.

"I'll leave!" he cried, his voice rising up a couple octaves. Reese didn't know what his deal was, but she found it undeniably adorable and hilarious.

"Smooth, Bluebird," she giggled as she gently pushed Dick out the door. "Real smooth." Once she had shut the door, Reese slid down to the floor and took a deep breath. It had been over two months since she fully realized her feelings for Dick Grayson, after the whole ordeal with Blanche in Nepal. Now, this close to Christmas, Reese was beginning to wonder if Dick would ever act on the feelings Reese  _knew_ he reciprocated.

It had started when he had first slept in her bedroom the night Reese had ner nightmare. Dick hadn't  _needed_ to stay with her, but he had chosen to and to be honest, him being there had given Reese the best night's sleep she'd had since she had first left Mount Justice a year ago. After a few seconds of contemplating life choices, Reese stood up and walked over to the bed, where her Christmas-colored outfit, and vowed to make today the best Christmas ever, even if Dick was too stubborn to recognize his feelings.

**Mount Justice; December 24th, 09:30 EST**

**Recognized Nightwing B01, Silver X B10, Robin B11**

Reese, Dick, and Jason stepped out of the zeta tube, all three dressed in civvies, only to be greeted by almost a ton of red and green glitter dumping on them as soon as they entered the main cave. As Reese ran her fingers through her hair, trying to get the stubborn glitter out, she glanced at Dick, only to find his stupidly attractive face covered in green and red sparkles. His eyes were flickering blue flames and Reese pitied the person who was going to face Nightwing's wrath, though she already had a guess as to what person had done it. Or rather, what  _peopl_ _e_.

"Wally!" Dick cried out as he started to stomp towards the kitchen, Jason and Reese on his heels. "Garfield!" 

When they got inside, Reese, Dick, and Jason found Kid Flash and Beastboy on the floor, rolling with laughter on the kitchen floor, when Artemis, M'gann, and Babs were rolling their eyes behind them. Though, when the archer saw the sparkling faces of her teammates, she struggled to hold in her laughs as well. Reese saw Artemis's shoulders shaking, and the shape-shifter crossed her arms.

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled. "You got us. Now can we kill your speedy little boyfriend?" Instead of trying to protect Wally from the menacing faces of three of the people who lived with Batman, Artemis just waved her hand in a go-ahead motion. Reese let her eyes begin to glow silver, and she relished in the fact that Wally's face turned as white as the snow outside when he saw Silver X's glowing eyes.

"Uh...okay, listen," he said, holding up his hands in a gesture of what Reese supposed was surrender, as she, Jason,  _and_ Dick all stalked towards the ginger-haired speedster, their eyes poorly masking their anger. "I'm sorry about the glitter. Honestly, it was all Gar's idea," he said, pointing at the green kid, who stared at Wally, offended, and Reese struggled to hold in a smirk.

"Wow," Dick tsked. "Throwing an eight-year-old kid under the bus. Shame, Wallace, shame," Reese went into a stance as if she was going to jump towards him, and she saw Wally's face turn even more frightened before he was gone in a streak of yellow.

Reese waited a few seconds, but when she was sure Wally was on the other side of the cave, she burst out laughing, eyes fading back to brown, as both Dick and Jason started chuckling. Artemis, Babs, M'gann, and Garfield joined in a few seconds later.

"Did you see his _face_?" Jason gasped out between giggles, and he collapsed onto the couch, holding his stomach as he tried to catch his breath. Reese shook her head fondly at the ten-year-old before turning back to M'gann.

"Why'd you call us to the cave fourteen-and-a-half hours before Christmas?" she asked before Dick interjected.

"Actually, it's now fourteen hours and fifteen minutes, but who's being technical?" Reese gently elbowed Dick out of the way and leaned against the kitchen island.

"You, obviously," she said, rolling her eyes. "Bluebird, no one cares that there's barely more than twelve hours until one of the biggest holidays in the United States. Drop it." Reese knew she was being a bit snippy, but she needed to buy the Team's Christmas presents, and she couldn't very well do that when Miss Martian had cornered her in Mount Justice, now could she?

"Someone's being a bit temperamental," Artemis observed, and Reese only scoffed. To her surprise, Dick suddenly slung an arm over Reese's sweater-clad shoulders and tugged her into a side-hug, and Reese felt her face flush.

"Argent here forgot to buy the Team their Christmas presents and is now on a deadline to buy  _all_ of your guys' gifts before midnight," Reese grumbled and ducked out from underneath Dick's arm to stand on the other side of the island by Babs.

"Laugh all you want Bluebird, I have to buy  _your_ present too," Dick's eyes widened before he was practically shooing her out the door.

"Well, then Argent, what are waiting for? Hurry!" Before she was fully out the door, Reese crooked a finger at Jason, whom she had already bought a present for, and Batman's youngest bird quickly scurried out the kitchen to follow Reese out of the mountain. As they were walking out the bay door, M'gann's voice filtered through the mountain.

"If you guys finish early, we'll be at Happy Harbor's Holiday Festival!" Reese gave a thumbs up in acknowledgment before the doors closed behind her and Jason. After a few minutes of companionable silence, Reese bumped Jason's shoulder with her own, causing the younger boy to look up at her.

" _So_..." she said teasingly, and as if Jason knew what she was going to say, he shot his eyes to the ground, cheeks turning pink. "What's going on between you and my sister?" Jason quickly shook his head.

"Nothing," he said quickly, almost too quickly, and he tried to cover up for that, but Reese caught it. "I mean...Lauren's great, of course, but I don't know if she likes me in that way," Reese chuckled and hung an arm around Jason's shoulder as the two entered Happy Harbor, the town decorated with twinkling red and green lights, and various booths set up for the festival.

"Trust me Jay-bird," she said, chuckling quietly as they entered a store that hopefully had a tape of the pilot "Hello, Megan!" episode Reese wanted to buy M'gann. "All you have to do is get a little mistletoe, then let nature take its course," As he started down the cluttered aisle, Jason popped his head over the shelf and gave Reese a look.

"That sounds gross, the way you said it," Reese went over her previous words mentally in her head and flinched when she realized Jason was right. The last thing she wanted was Jason and Lauren letting "nature take its course". Eew.

"You're right," she said quickly, before spotting the VHS tape she needed sitting by itself on a lone shelf. "Found it!" she cried excitedly, and as she and Jason headed towards the register, Reese ruffled Jason's hat-covered black hair. "Forget what I said about nature. Just speak from your heart. And plus," she added as they stopped in front of a storefront. "I happen to know that Lauren thinks you're pretty cool," 

Jason's eyes shot up to meet hers, and Reese smiled at the hope that was brimming in their depths. After a few seconds, Robin cleared his throat.

"So, who's next on the list?" Reese glanced down at the slim piece of paper in her hand and reading the name underneath M'gann's crossed-out one.

"Wally," she said simply, before looking at Jason quizzically. She had absolutely no idea what to get Kid Flash, and when she told as much to Jason, he shrugged. He didn't know either. Reese ran a hand through her hair before she caught her own gaze in the reflection of the storefront they were standing in front of. Inside the store was what looked like a bunch of gags and pranks. Joy buzzers, whoopie cushions, the like.

Reese glanced down at Jason, and she found that the boy was grinning. He agreed. 

"Two down, six to go," Reese said as she pushed open the door to the joke shop, the jingle bells jingling overhead. The store was filled top-to-bottom with different joking toys, Reese would be surprised if they found  _anything_ for Wally in here. She glanced at Jason from the corner of her eye, and she found the bird looking determined.

"Divide and conquer?" he asked, and Reese nodded once before they separated.

"Divide and conquer,"

**Mount Justice; December 24th, 12:00 EST**

Reese and Jason stumbled back into the mountain two hours later absolutely laden with the gifts Reese had bought for the Team. The VHS for M'gann, a whole gag bag for Wally, full of different pranks and jokes that Reese was seriously regretting buying him now, after the whole glitter incident. For Babs, she'd bought a new, state-of-the-art tablet, loaded with all the new tech, and able to hack into the Pentagon with ease. Reese knew...she'd been the one who'd tested it.

For Conner, Reese and Jason had collaborated on a gift, and both bought him a pair of black, fingerless gloves, able to protect his hands from punching things. Reese knew he wouldn't normally be hurt by things like that, but you never know. The gifts to Artemis and Garfield couldn't be more different. For Artemis Reese had gotten a custom-made quiver from Oliver Queen, complete with extra compartments from crossbow darts, should Artemis need them. 

Reese had bought Beastboy a new video game that had just come out in stores, something about the fourth in a series of monkeys battling each other, Reese wasn't entirely sure in that aspect, but Jason had seemed interested in it, so that was something. 

The final one the two had bought before coming back to the cave for something to eat had been Kaldur's gift. Reese hadn't known how you bought a gift for the ex-boyfriend you broke up with a literal week before Christmas, but she had eventually found a conch shell in a store that seemed almost iridescent in its design, seeming to swirl with the different blues and greens of the ocean. They may have been exes, and no longer in a romantic relationship, but Kaldur was still Reese's friend, no matter their previous encounters.

The only present she hadn't bought was Dick's. Reese slammed her head against the kitchen counter and groaned as she plopped the bags down, and slumped onto a barstool, head in her hands. Jason, who looked like he was about to make a sandwich, looked at Reese with concern dancing on his face. The rest of the Team seemed to have left for the festival, so the cave was empty.

"Don't worry, Reese," he said softly, sitting down across from her, a peanut-butter-and-jelly on the plate in front of him. "You'll find Dick a present, don't worry." Reese glanced up at Jason through half-lidded eyes and gave Robin a small smile.

"Thanks, Jason," she said quietly, before glancing at the clock on the wall and slamming her head on the counter again. "I just don't know what to get him, and I have less than twelve hours before midnight!"

"Technically eleven hours and fifty-three minutes, but who's being technical?" Reese gave Jason a dry look.

"Funny," Jason shrugged before he slid another sandwich in front of Reese.

"It doesn't matter what you get Dick, Reese. Trust me, he'll love anything you get him," Reese shrugged again before a thought randomly flitted through her head.

"Hey, Jason?" she asked and Robin glanced at her over his shoulder. "Do you remember, last year, when the Leech put me in the hospital, and Dick said that you guys would be bringing him here, to the cave?" it wasn't really a memory that Reese wanted to relive, but something had been bothering her since Dick and Jason had brought her home, and she wanted to get it out in the light. In response to her question, Jason nodded.

"Yeah. Man, you should've seen Luke when Nightwing brought him in, all black and blue. Leech looked like he'd been hit with a bus. Or a Batmobile," Reese was shocked. She'd known both Aqualad and Nightwing were a couple of loose cannons when it came to her safety, but Luke looking like Dick had run him over with the  _Batmobile_? Even concerning Luke, Reese thought that was a bit much.

"Is he still here?" Reese asked quietly, almost fearful of the answer. Did she really want to see her torturer, the man who had carved an "L" into her side, on the skin above her ribcage, where it now stood stark-white? And, judging from the look on Jason's face, the bird thought she was insane, and considering what she had been through in the past couple of years, Reese very well might be.

"I mean-yeah, he's still here. Are you sure you want to see him?" Jason asked after a few moments of what could potentially be an awkward silence. Reese gave a small nod, and Jason abandoned his sandwich to lead Reese over to where she would stay in the cave. She gave Jason a glance, but Robin only waved his hand.

"It might be a good idea to put your suit on, just in case," Jason said quietly, not quite meeting Reese's eyes. The shapeshifter looked at Robin quizzically. She understood that she'd probably need a way to defend herself, but was going in her entire suit ensemble really necessary? "I'll meet you back here in five minutes," Jason continued, and he was gone before Reese got a chance to say anything.

Once she was dressed, Jason, now dressed as Robin led Silver X into the area in Mount Justice where the Team would put the villains they captured until the Justice League was able to take care of them. A cell was never full for more than a day, a week at most. The cell's door and the front wall was made of twelve inches of transparent plexiglass, so it was unlikely Luke would get out, unless he shot the door, which was impossible, considering he had no gun or weapon to speak of. 

And considering it would take over a thousand years for the plexiglass to biodegrade, Luke wasn't able to use his powers to destroy the door either. He also had an inhibitor collar around his neck, but that was beside the point.

Whatever the variables were, they had no part in what made Reese stop dead in her tracks as soon as she caught sight of Luke's limp figure hanging against the wall, his wrists in high-tech shackles and his head hanging down against his chest. Part of Reese knew that it was fear, of facing the man who had haunted her nightmares for months after Coast City, but another part of her was struck dumb with shock at seeing the state Luke was in.

He was shirtless, and his chest was covered with bruises, some yellowing, while others were a grotesque blackish-blue, and his eye was swelled shut as a cut on his forehead was crusted with dried blood. Reese could only imagine what had happened, but deep down she knew already what had happened.

"I'll be right outside," Robin said quietly, before he left Reese alone with Luke, her on one side of the plexiglass, him on the other.

"I know you're there, little Reese," Luke's raspy voice, so unlike his almost silky voice from two years ago, jerked Reese from her thoughts, and she tilted her head up to look Luke dead in the eye., only to find the Leech smirking at her, his eyes dark. "Like the way I look? You can thank your boyfriend for my new makeover," Reese's eyes widened.

"Kaldur did this?" she asked quietly, pressing a hand against the glass, and Luke shook his head wearily. 

"No, the other one. Batman's bird," if it was possible, Reese's eyes widened even more as the implications flew through her head. Nightwing.  _Dick_ had done this.

"Bluebird," she whispered, but before Luke could say anything in response, a shrill, high-pitched screech, not unlike Dinah's Canary Cry, screamed throughout the cell-block, throwing Reese to the ground and shattering the door of Luke's cell.

Through the ringing in her ears, Reese saw Robin burst in through the door, boots pounding against the floor. She felt the Silver X run itself through her veins, and Reese struggled to stay in control, her eyes rapidly switching between brown and silver.

"Get...Nightwing..." Reese managed to gasp out to Jason as she felt blood begin to drip out of her ears from the high frequency. Robin seemed skeptical, but he relented when Reese pushed him towards the door. " _Go!_ " 

Once he was gone, Reese pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, only to be met with a pair of black-booted feet. The Leech stood over Reese triumphantly, his hands grasping the inhibitor collar around his neck and ripping it off.

"Well, well, well, little Reese," the Leech sneered as he knelt down next to Reese's still crouching form. "Quite a predicament you're in, aren't you? Incapacitated, with no teammates or friends within two miles. Whatever shall I do with you?" But, just as he was reaching down to grasp Reese's neck with an ungloved hand, Reese felt droplets splatter her face, and the heavy smell of iron invaded her nostrils. 

Reese flipped around to see the Leech holding his now-slit throat with one hand, as blood spurted from the wound all over Reese.

"What...have...you...grngh-" Luke began before his voicebox was flooded with his own blood and he collapsed on top of Reese, knocking her to the ground. Shuffling out from under him, Reese gazed down at the limp body of the Leech. Luke. He was dead. Several throwing stars were suddenly flying towards her, and Reese was barely able to take out her bō staff to knock them out of the way.

In the doorway stood an assassin from the League of Shadows, their face covered by what looked like some sort of polar bear-like Native American mask. Almost...Inuit. Reese's head shot up as the assassin took off her mask, only to reveal the face of someone Reese had hoped she would never see again. Kallik.

"You're very meddlesome, Rhysalin Michaels," the woman said, dangerously calm. Reese leveled her bō staff at the Inuit murderer and narrowed her eyes behind her domino mask, not even bothering the fact that Kallik knew her real name.

"I've been told its called curiosity," she retorted, and Kallik shook her head as if she were a parent about to scold a young child.

"Have you never heard what curiosity does to cats, Rhysalin?" she asked, and Reese shrugged before her eyes glowed a bright, luminescent silver.

"Then it's a good thing I'm not a cat, isn't it?" With that, Reese shifted into her wolf, or at least, she tried to. Reese's body quivered, as if getting ready for the shift, but after about five seconds, the quivering stopped, and Reese was still stubbornly human. What the hell was going on? Why couldn't she shift?

"Insolent girl," Kallik chuckled darkly, but instead of dignifying Reese with a fair fight, Kallik snapped her fingers, and a dozen other Shadows materialized out of thin air, effectively herding Reese into a corner. The girl was pleasantly surprised and relieved to see that Cheshire was not among them.

The Shadows suddenly charged towards Reese, and the girl ran, back into the main part of the cave, just in time to catch a throwing star to the shoulder. Reese suddenly remembered something that Kaldur had told her years ago about the weapons the League of Shadows used.

Jellyfish toxin. They coated their blades with  _jellyfish toxin_. Everything suddenly seemed to sway in front of Reese's face, and the last things she saw before she collapsed to the ground were Kallik and the other Shadows dragging Luke's body away, just as the bay doors opened to reveal Dick and Jason.

Then, everything went black.

**Happy Harbor Holiday Festival; December 24th, 11:40 EST**

Dick

Dick Grayson sat on a wooden bench by Happy Harbor's outdoor ice rink and watched as a whole multitude of people skated around, his teammates scattered among them. He saw Wally try and trip Superboy, but the genomorph just gave him a look and Kid Flash went back to skate next to Artemis, who just rolled her eyes before she grabbed Wally's hand and dragged him farther down the rink.

Dick chuckled to himself behind his ever-present shades as he watched his friends around him, goofing off and, for once, just acting like normal teenagers. Well, as normal as you can be when you're part of a covert superhero team.

"You seem happy," a voice cut into Dick's thoughts, and Nightwing glanced up to find Babs smiling down at him. Dick shrugged as he scooted over on the bench to make room for her.

"I am," he answered truthfully as Barbara sat down. "I just wish that Reese and Jason could be here with us," As soon as he saw Babs's smirk, Dick wished he could take back what he'd said.

"You really like her, don't you?" Batgirl was intuitive, Dick would give her that. In response to her question, Nightwing tilted his head back until he was looking up at the snowy Happy Harbor sky, red and green streamers fluttering from where they were tied up on the light posts around the festival.

"I do, it's just..." he trailed off, and from the corner of his eye, Dick saw Babs's soft smile.

"You don't know how to tell her?" Dick nodded and leaned forward, resting his forearms against his thighs.

"Exactly. I mean, the last time something good happened between us was a week ago, and even then it wasn't under the best of circumstances," the memory of Reese's nightmare flitted through Dick's head, and Nightwing clenched his eyes shut behind his sunglasses as he remembered how  _terrified_ Reese had been once Dick had woken up.

"What happened?" Batgirl's voice was soft, and Dick had to strain to catch it.

"Nightmares," he answered simply. "Something Reese did before she disappeared last year, it wasn't good. Now, she's scared that the same thing will happen to me, Jason, and Lauren." Babs tilted her head as if she was deep in thought.

"How was this moment 'good' then?" Dick chuckled for a minute, before glancing at Babs again.

"I slept with her," he said, but frantically waved his hands when Barbara's eyes widened. "Not like  _that_. She asked me to stay with her, to comfort her I guess, and I  _slept_ with her. As in, sleeping, nothing else."

"What'd you get her for Christmas?" Babs asked, and Dick's eyes shot to meet hers at the subject change, before reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a slender necklace. It was a relatively simple piece of jewelry, only a thin silver chain, connected to a charm that was shaped like a bird, and the charm was inlaid with pale blue stones.

"It's beautiful," Barbara breathed as she fingered the small jewels that made up the outline of the two birds.

"Aquamarine," Dick said simply. "It's Reese's birthstone. I was going to give it to her on her birthday, but Christmas seemed like a better bet." Babs laughed, but before she could say anything, Dick's phone rang, and Nightwing slid it out to see that Jason was calling him. Dick glanced at Babs, but she only waved a hand before standing up off of the bench.

"Talk to Jason," she said, before pointing farther down the festival grounds. "I see M'gann and Conner, and I want to get their input on something I'm working on," With that, she was gone, leaving Dick to slide his ungloved finger across the phone screen, and he lifted it up to his ear.

"Hey, Jay-bird," Dick said in greeting. "What's up?" Jason's voice filtered through the phone, and Dick couldn't help but notice that he sounded a bit...sheepish?

"Hey, Dick," the younger boy said. "Now, don't get mad, because you  _know_ how stubborn Reese can be when she wants something, and it is  _really_ hard to tell her that she can't do something, and-" Dick abruptly cut off the younger bird's rambling.

"Jason, what  _happened_?" Nightwing heard Jason take a deep breath, but before he could speak, a woman bumped into Dick's shoulder, causing her to drop the package she was carrying. Dick bent down to pick it up when he noticed who it was for.  _Him_. Well, Nightwing, anyway.

Picking up the large manila envelope, Dick sat back down on the bench and pulled out the papers it contained, only for his heart to almost drop to his feet. The pictures were of Reese. Both before Dick had found her and brought her back, and after.

Even one when she was sleeping and Dick's gut clenched when he read the time stamp.  _That_ was why Reese's window had been opened this morning. Dick had told her that he had been the one to open it, as a means of waking her up, but that had been a lie. The window had been open when Dick walked in, and before he had woken Reese up, Nightwing had done a quick sweep of her room, if only to check to see if someone who wasn't meant to be there was, but he had found nothing.

Because they had already  _been_ there, taking pictures of Reese as she slept. At the back of the envelope, there was a note, and Dick picked it up to read it.

**Hello, Nightwing, this is quite a predicament, isn't it? The girl you love, being stalked by mysterious individuals. Don't worry though, we aren't that mysterious. In fact, you know the one who is writing this letter. It's been a while since Alaska, hasn't it? Dick Grayson...better hurry if you want to keep your little girlfriend from our clutches, or you might just lose her...again.**

Suddenly the noise of breaking glass came through Dick's phone, and he barked into it, still a bit pissed off from the contents of the note.

"What was that?" he asked Jason and was definitely  _not_ satisfied with Robin's answer.

"I-I don't know," he said quietly, but before Jason could say anything more, Dick hung up and slipped the photos into the inside of his coat jacket and started jogging back towards the mountain, but halfway there his commlink turned on, and Dick's blood ran cold when Robin's voice came through.

"Robin to Nightwing," Dick quickly shucked off his jacket and sweater and stuffed them into the trunk of a hollow tree in the woods surrounding Mount Justice. Underneath he was wearing his Nightwing suit and took an extra domino mask from a compartment of his utility belt. Then, he started running.

"Nightwing here," he said into his commlink. "What is it, Robin?"

"The Leech's cell," Robin said, and Dick almost lost his balance. "It broke. That crashing noise you heard? That was the door exploding from a high frequency."

"How high of a frequency are we talking about?" Dick asked as he got closer.

"Canary Cry, maybe higher," Dick swore under his breath as he came into view of the mountain. Halfway there he met Jason, dressed in Robin gear, and the two birds thundered back into the mountain, just in time to see Silver X collapse to the ground, a throwing star jutting out of her shoulder.

"No!" Dick cried as he and Robin ran into the cave and to Reese's side. Nightwing felt his heart clench when he saw that Reese's suit was  _covered_ in blood, but when he examined her, Dick realized that the only injury Reese seemed to have was from the wound in her shoulder. Grasping the throwing star, Dick tugged it out of Reese's skin and threw it to the side, before just as quickly pressing a single hand against the wound as it started to bleed.

"Jason, get the jellyfish antidote from the infirmary," Nightwing said briskly. "This is Shadow work," with nothing more than a nod, Jason was gone, and Dick tapped his commlink, alerting the rest of the Team.

"Nightwing to Team," he said. "There was a break-in at the cave. Reese is injured. Get back,  _now_." Without giving anyone a chance to speak, Dick turned off his commlink and picked Reese's limp, unconscious form up bridal-style and carried her into the med-bay, where Jason was already waiting with the jellyfish antidote.

Once Reese had been given the antidote, was stable, and her new stitches were clean, Dick collapsed into a chair next to her bed, running the hand that wasn't covered in Reese's blood over his face.

What had happened here? One moment it was Christmas Eve, and Reese and Jason were going out to buy presents, and the next Reese is in the med-bay with someone else's blood covering her suit, and a League of Shadows shuriken lodged in her shoulder.

Vowing to figure out what exactly had happened, Dick took out a slim tablet and opened up the security footage in Mount Justice from half an hour earlier. There were Reese and Jason, setting down the presents they had bought onto the kitchen island. Reese banging her head against the counter, why she was doing that Dick didn't know, he didn't have the audio on. Then, there was Reese, now in her Silver X suit, standing in front of Luke's cell, talking to their prisoner.

Nightwing's fingers clenched around the sides of the tablet as he turned the audio on and listened to the Leech tell Reese that Dick had been the one to give Luke his bruises. Nightwing didn't regret what he had done, not one bit. When the door to Luke's cell exploded and both Reese and the Leech were thrown to the ground, Dick stubbornly wished that he had been there, if only to protect Reese from the thousands of microscopic shards of plexiglass that were suddenly flying everywhere.

The air in the med-bay suddenly seemed to turn fifty degrees cooler when Dick saw Luke's throat get slit, and the Leech fall on top of Reese. The blood on Reese's suit, it was Luke's. Nightwing narrowed his eyes when he saw Reese try and shift, but was ultimately overpowered when Kallik summoned those other Shadows into the cave.

Movement caught Dick's attention, and he turned off the security tablet in time to catch Reese just as she woke up. The girl sat up and clutched her head, prompting Nightwing to hurry to her side.

"What happened?" Reese's voice was raspy and quiet, making Dick have to strain his hearing to catch it.

"Kallik," Nightwing said simply, before wrapping his fingers around Reese's. "She and some Shadows broke into the cave and made Luke's cell explode, before they killed him," Dick tilted Reese's face towards his and looked deep into her chocolate brown eyes. "Argent, you almost died. If Robin hadn't found me when he did..." Dick trailed off and glanced down at the bedsheets, not wanting to think of the implications of what he had said.

"You got here in time though, Bluebird," Reese said softly, making Dick glance up. "You got here in time, and I'm okay," Suddenly, Reese groaned and flopped back down onto the bed, and Dick was worried that something else, some other injury he hadn't seen, was hurting her.

"Reese, you okay?" he asked frantically, only to stop when he heard Reese start laughing. "What's so funny?" he asked, and Reese gingerly pulled herself up, still mindful of her injured shoulder.

"I just remembered," she said quietly before glancing up at Dick, humor starting to filter back into her eyes, the chocolate-brown depths sparkling with mirth. "I forgot to buy your Christmas present," Dick let out a small chuckle before pressing his forehead against Reese's.

"Listen to me, Rhysalin," he said seriously. "When Jason called me, telling me something had happened at the cave, I was so scared. Scared for you, for Jason, I didn't know what had happened, and I didn't know what to expect when I got here. Would you be dead? Kidnapped again? I had no idea, and it  _terrified_ me, Rhysalin,"

Reese opened her mouth to speak, but Dick cut her off with a quick kiss on each cheek before pressing a lingering one against her forehead.

"You don't need to buy me a Christmas present this year, Argent," Dick said quietly.

_Knowing that you are okay is the best present I could ask for._

 

 


	7. Chapter 6...Distraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On New Year's Eve, Dick spends the day with Reese to get her mind off of Bruce's words during their mission briefing, and Dick spars with Reese to get her ready for her mission, while the session gets a little...heated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reese's line when Dick is taking out her stitches is a parody of a line that one of my other OCs (in a Judas Contract fic I'm writing, ironically, she's also Dick's little sister) asks Damian as he's helping her after she pulls a muscle. I don't know if I'll post it on here. I might after I'm done with this series. Who knows?
> 
> Also, tell me if you recognize the line between Dick and Bruce in his study...

**Wayne Manor; December 31st, 08:45 EST**

Dick

Dick peeked into Reese's bedroom a week after Christmas, only to find that the silver shapeshifter wasn't there. She wasn't in Lauren's, Jason's, or the training room either. Heading down to the kitchen, he found Alfred at the stove, mixing something in a big pot.

"Hey, Alfred?" he asked, gaining the attention of the butler. "You haven't seen Reese by any chance, have you?" Alfred glanced at Dick over his jacketed shoulder and gave Nightwing a knowing smirk, which only made Dick's face burn even more.

"I believe Miss Rhysalin is in the Batcave. At least that was where she was at three this morning when I came downstairs," Dick's eyes widened. Reese had been up for almost six hours already? Giving Alfred a quick thank you, Dick went into Bruce's study and through the secret entrance to the Batcave, which was behind an old grandfather clock.

Walking down the stairs, Dick looked around for a minute and saw Reese standing in front of the pod that held Silver X's costume, wearing a Gotham Knights sweatshirt and skinny jeans, looking a bit dejected.

Before Dick made himself known, he watched Reese for a moment. Not in a perverted or creepy way, of course, he was just...studying her. Yeah,  _that_ didn't sound any better. Anyway, he couldn't help but notice how sad and down-in-the-dumps, so to speak, that Reese looked.

As far as Dick knew, he hadn't seen Reese put on her suit since Christmas, and he knew for a fact that the Team had had missions since then. He empathized with Reese, truly he did, after all, what happened with Luke, him being killed right in front of her, it wore down a person's self-esteem, that was for sure.

"Have you been staring at that Spandex for six hours, or are you going to stop?" he asked finally, leaning against the cave wall, trying to seem like he had swagger and hadn't just been staring at Reese for the past five minutes. The girl in question turned to look at Dick and gave Nightwing a soft smile.

"Hey," she said, before coming to stand in front of him. Dick couldn't help but notice that he was maybe two inches taller than Reese, and the way she looked at him up through her long, dark, lashes made Dick fall in love with her all over again. "I'm sorry, were you looking for me?" Dick shrugged.

"I was, but what I needed to ask you isn't that important," Not important his ass. Dick had been planning on asking Reese on a date for New Year's, but seeing as how Reese didn't really seem to be in a partying mood, Nightwing had decided to hold off on it for now. "Argent, are you okay?" Reese gave a choked laugh and turned back around to face her costume pod, and placed a hand against the glass.

"To be honest?" Reese asked, standing in front of the pod. "Not really," her reflection in the glass made it seem like Reese was wearing her costume, even if she actually wasn't. Dick came to stand just behind her and placed a single hand on Reese's shoulder, gently turning the girl around.

"You want to talk about it?" Dick asked quietly, and Reese shrugged again before leaning over the railing that looked over the rest of the Batcave.

"It's just... I keep thinking about Luke, and the Shadows, and how I should've been able to do something to help, instead my powers were on the fritz, and I ended up getting hit by a throwing star, and I messed up everyone else's Christmas Eve, and my stitches are hurting, and-" Dick wrapped Reese up in a hug as tears started to stream down her cheeks. Reese's fingers dug into the backs of Dick's shoulders, but Nightwing just tightened his hold as Reese's tears subsided.

"Rhysalin, that wasn't your fault. I promise I will do whatever it takes to find out what is going on with your powers. I won't be able to stand it if something were to happen to you, "Those three life-changing words were on the very tip of Dick's tongue, but the vigilante held them in. Now was not the time.

"Thanks, Bluebird," Reese whispered, and Dick smiled into Reese's hair before he leaned back, a calculating look on his face.

"If your stitches hurt, it may be time to take them out," Reese shrugged a shoulder but winced as her right one lifted into the air. Dick gave her a small smirk. Leading her over to the small med-bay Alfred had installed in the cave after Bruce had come home once too many with a broken bone or two. Or three, or four...anyway, Dick shook his head quickly to rid himself of his thoughts as Reese sat down on a bed and slipped her sweatshirt off.

Dick turned around from grabbing a small pair of surgical scissors, only to find Reese topless on the table, clad in only her skinny jeans and a black lacy bra, her aquamarine bird necklace around her neck. Dick could feel his face burning, and could only hope that Reese didn't catch it.

"Why'd you take your shirt off?" he asked, and Reese gave a simple shrug as if it was no big deal. Hmph.

"You can't very well take the stitches out of my shoulder if I have my sweatshirt on, now could you?" Dick had to admit, she had a point. Stepping forward, he tried to hold in a shiver as Reese trailed the fingers of her left hand along his arm, but it was extremely difficult. Nightwing glanced at Reese as he finished pulling out the thread in her right shoulder and gave her an exasperated, teasing glare.

"You're very distracting, you know that?" he asked, and Reese rolled her eyes, making Dick smirk.

"Oh,  _I'm_ the distracting one?" she asked, and Dick instantly grew wary of the mischievous glint that was in Reese's eyes, which had now lost their dull sadness. Recovering quickly, Dick gave a sly grin and leaned closer until he and Reese were almost nose-to-nose.

"Are you saying _I_ distractyou, Rhysalin Blaire?" In retaliation, and to Dick's complete shock, Reese wrapped her long legs around Dick's waist and tugged him towards her until they were even closer together.

"What would you do if I said yes?" As she looped her hands over his neck, Reese's eyes were dark with an emotion Dick wasn't choosing to interpret and to be honest, he was starting to enjoy it. Pretending to think for a minute, Nightwing tilted his head so his mouth was right next to Reese's ear and spoke softly into it.

"What do you  _want_ me to do, Rhysalin?" Smiling when he heard Reese give a sharp intake of breath, Dick tilted his head again and moved until Reese's lips were barely two inches from his own. But, just as it had happened in the cave with Clayface, just as Dick and Reese were about to kiss, there was a sharp cough from the doorway, and it made Dick and Reese jump away from each other, both of their faces as red as Wally's hair.

"Master Dick, Miss Rhysalin, if you two are quite finished, Master Bruce wishes to speak with you in his study," If Dick didn't know any better, he could say that the British butler sounded almost smug. Dick tossed Reese her sweatshirt, and after she'd put it on, they followed Alfred up the stairs and into the study, where Bruce was waiting, sitting in an armchair next to the crackling fireplace.

"Thank you, Alfred," Bruce said, and the butler gave a swift nod before leaving. Dick could feel the awkward tension in the air, and it stayed until Bruce cleared his throat and pressed a button on a remote control that was suddenly in his hands, making the TV screen in front of them light up. On the screen were the profiles of each member of the Sporelli crime family, including their associates in the Riccis.

"You're briefing us  _now_?" Dick asked, and Bruce fixed him with a look that made Nightwing slump down in his chair. Bruce didn't really seem to be in the best, festive mood for New Year's right now, and Dick deemed it best to not piss off the Batman more than he already was.

"I told you I would brief you at New Year's, didn't I?" Bruce asked rhetorically, before clearing his throat and turning back to the screen in front of them. Glancing around him, Dick caught Reese's eye, and the girl gave him a small smile. Bruce's voice continued, making Dick look back towards the TV screen. "First off, we have Alessandro "Il Diavolo" Sporelli, age fifty-five. Born and raised in Naples, Italy alongside his twin sister Leona. Leona died when the twins were sixteen after a boating accident, which prompted Sporelli to immigrate to the United States, where he became a pro wrestler in the luchador ring and earned the nickname 'The Devil'," 

Bruce pulled up another picture alongside Sporelli's teenage one, showing a girl with long dark hair and dark eyes. There was an obvious family resemblance between the two until Bruce swiped Leona's photo away and switched Sporelli's with a more current one. It was a mug shot from earlier that year, showing a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and a cruel sneer. Damn. The guy even  _looked_ like a crime boss.

"Sporelli was arrested in March for being caught in Star City with a boatload of military-grade weaponry, set for a course to Metropolis, where another mafia family had made them a deal. Green Arrow and Black Canary brought him into the SCPD, but his lawyers got him out within a week."

"Dang," Reese mused, her eyes going wide. "He must have some pretty good lawyers," Bruce glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before continuing.

"Dinah Lance was a prosecutor on the case, but even with the help of Queen Industries, she and Oliver weren't able to keep Sporelli behind bars," he clicked away Sporelli's picture, and it switched to one of a woman who looked almost twenty years younger, with a sultry smirk and obviously dyed blonde hair. That, or she had a hella good plastic surgeon. "Millicent 'Mimi' Sporelli, age forty born with the maiden-name Lichweed. She was born in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and became a successful model after an agent caught her in Central Park," Bruce cut off, and Dick glanced up to see Batman with an almost imperceptible grimace on his face. "She and I are...acquaintances," Dick curled his lip.

"Seriously, Bruce?" he asked, scrunching his eyebrows together. Bruce rolled his eyes and ran a hand over his face, pinching the space between his eyebrows.

"To be fair, that was over eight years ago, and we both regret it, so it has nothing that should matter now," Dick still wasn't entirely sure he wanted to let his strange new development go, but for the case of Bruce's sanity, he relented and sat back in his chair. 

The next picture made Dick's hands clench tightly around the arms of his chair, his eyes burning with a figurative cerulean flame.  _This_ was the guy Reese had to pretend to be betrothed to? Guiliano Sporelli was a  _mess_. He had dark, stringy black hair that was almost to his shoulders, tied up in a man-bun that did nothing to help his image. It may just be him being petty and a little  _tiny_ bit protective, but the fact that Reese had to pretend to be engaged to  _that_ guy made him want to punch something. Preferably Guy Sporelli's face.

"Is it too late to rethink this?" Reese asked, her lip curling as she looked at the junior Sporelli's picture, and Dick's lips turned up into a small smirk as he heard Reese's words. At least she wasn't totally infatuated with the guy. He wasn't entirely sure anybody would  _want_ to, but it was a comforting thought. 

"What's the profile on this guy?" Dick asked if only to see what exactly he had on Guy Sporelli. As if sensing his intentions, Bruce gave Nightwing a minuscule smirk before pulling up Guy's profile.

"Guiliano 'Guy' Sporelli, age nineteen. Born and raised here in Gotham City with his parents. Brought into the business when he was sixteen, and solely negotiated a deal between his father and Antonio Ricci, which made this whole ordeal start in the first place. Another thing," Bruce quickly added as Reese made to stand up. "From what Batgirl, Robin, and I have been able to gather, the younger Sporelli is also completely infatuated with Celeste Ricci." Dick's fists clenched again and Reese's face fell as she suddenly sat on the arm of Dick's chair, where Nightwing steadied her by pressing a single hand against the small of her back.

"Well that's just perfect," Reese grumbled, crossing her arms. "What exactly will my first day as Celeste Ricci entail?" Bruce exited out of the profiles of each member of the Sporellis and pulled up a headline from the Gotham Gazette. Dick's eyes widened as he read it.

**'Fundraiser For Gotham City Orphanage To Be Held At Gotham Museum January 15th'**

Dick and Reese both turned to Bruce with almost identical skeptical expressions on their faces.

"The mafia supports the city's people-in-need?" Reese asked a single eyebrow raised. Bruce only shrugged.

"They need to keep up their public image. The shady business happens more in Gotham's underworld. You have something you can wear?" The look Reese gave Bruce after he asked her if she had anything to wear was priceless, and it made Dick snicker behind where he was still supporting Reese.

"Do I have anything to wear? Bruce, have you  _met_ me? I'll ask M'gann and Artemis to help me pick a dress out later this week." Bruce's eyes lit up as if he had just remembered something, and Dick instantly perked up, only to narrow his eyes as Bruce spoke.

"Another thing. Even though Nightwing will already be there as your handler for this mission, the Team will be going into the fundraiser as well, as a sort of guard," Dick felt Reese's back muscles tense, and he inwardly sighed at Bruce's choice of words.

"A guard?" she echoed quietly " Do you not trust me?" Reese asked and her eyes narrowed in a way that challenged Bruce to tell her she was right. And just like Dick had known he would, Bruce took the bait.

"It's not that Reese, we just don't want anyone else to get hurt," Dick shut his eyes tightly and tilted his head back as he silently started to plan Bruce's funeral. That was  _definitely_ the wrong thing to say. Reese's head whipped towards Dick's, who quickly held up his hands in surrender.

" _We_?" she hissed, and Dick quickly shook his head.

"Don't look at _me,_ " he said. "I've been in the dark as much as you have," Dick saw Bruce shake his head again as Reese turned back around.

"It wasn't Dick who talked to me, Reese," he said quietly, and Dick swore under his breath as he suddenly realized who had spoken to Bruce about Reese's sanity.

Abruptly standing up, Dick stalked over to the window and stood in front of it for a moment before glancing over his shoulder at Bruce, who had by now caught on to what Dick was thinking, and to Reese, who had stood up and was standing next to the chair, confusion in her brown eyes.

"When?" Dick growled, barely keeping his temper barely in check. "When did he talk to you?" Bruce sighed.

"Just after Christmas," he said quietly, and Dick's urge to punch something grew stronger. "But, know this Dick. He's only concerned about the safety of his Team. He doesn't want Reese putting anyone in dang-"

" _His_ Team?" Dick whispered quietly, interrupting Bruce's words. " _His Team_? It hasn't been 'his Team' since Reese left! That also doesn't give him the right to ask you to put the Team as a  _guard_ around her!" he was shouting now, and Dick whipped around to stalk towards Bruce until the two of them were almost nose-to-nose, one seething, the other calm and stone-cold.

"Aqualad was only-" This time it was Reese's voice who cut in, and to say she was pissed off would be a gross understatement.

" _Kaldur_ was the one who asked for the Team to guard me?" her voice was cold and sharp as a blade. "Was it to stop people from hurting  _me_ , or for _me_ to stop from hurting anyone else?" Dick was pretty sure it was a rhetorical question, but Bruce just  _had_ to keep talking.

"Due to what happened to the Leech on Christmas, and Anthony Wilmer before him, Aqualad thinks it best if-" he was suddenly stopped by Reese holding up a hand, her brown eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Don't finish  _Batman_ ," she hissed, beginning to back away towards the door to the study. "Just... don't." Before any of them could say anything, Reese spun around and fled upstairs, leaving both Bruce and Dick in stunned silence. After a few moments, Dick whipped around again to stare Bruce dead in the eye, blue meeting blue.

"Bang-up job you did there, Bruce," he growled. "What kind of  _insane_ mindset do you have that makes it okay for  _Aqualad_ to govern Reese's actions in her life? What happened to those two was _not_ Reese's fault," he said, and for that, it seemed Bruce didn't have a response. Without saying anything else, Dick turned around and began to walk towards the door to go after Reese, and only paused when Batman said his name.

"Richard, making decisions with your heart will get people killed. It could get  _Reese_ killed," Dick whipped his head around and his eyes were narrow slits as he glared menacingly at Bruce.

"Don't bring her into this," he growled. "Maybe if you  _had_ a heart, you'd know what we were going through," Instead of giving Bruce a chance to retort, Dick stepped out of the study, only to run into Jason, who was standing just outside.

"Hey, Dick, you okay?" the younger bird said softly, but Dick, who was still fuming from that briefing, just ended up snapping at him.

"Stay out of it, Jason," he bit out. Jason's eyes widened.

"If something's wrong, Lauren and I want to-"

"Jason, I said stay out of it!" Dick shouted before he shoved past Robin and stomped up the stairs before he paused again outside Reese's bedroom door. Tapping lightly on the wooden frame, Dick pressed his hand against the door, trying to calm his temper. "Argent? Reese, you okay?"

"Go away, Richard," Reese's voice was choked up as if she'd been crying, and Dick clenched his eyes shut for a moment before pushing the door open and stepping inside to see Reese curled up in a fetal position on her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest, while her back was facing him.

"Reese, you know I can't do that," Dick said quietly before he stepped inside Reese's room, and walked over to kneel on the side of the bed. "I care about you, Rhysalin. What Bruce said was out of line. He and Aqualad had no right to govern your actions like that. You're in charge of your own life and can make your own choices. No one else can tell you what to do. You're headstrong, and for once that's actually a  _good_ thing. It might save your life one day," Instead of talking, Reese just curled up farther into her blankets, and Dick inwardly sighed.

He needed to do something to get Reese's mind off of what Bruce had said in the study and the best way to do that was to get Reese...out of the Manor. As the idea shot into Dick's mind, Nightwing grinned, and grabbed Reese's waist and tugged her off the bed, where Reese then fell with a 'thud' onto the floor. After she had steadied herself, Reese flipped her hair, which had fallen into her face, back over her shoulder, and glared at Dick, but Nightwing could see faint glimmers of amusement in her dark brown eyes.

"Did you need something, Bluebird?" she asked, but Dick's grin only grew wider. Taking Reese's hand and pulling her up to her feet, Dick spun her around until he tugged her towards him, and her back was pressed flush against his chest.

"I just realized," Dick said softly, almost whispering into Reese's ear. "You need a break, Argent. Tell you what? How about, you and me, go out? Spend the day in the city, just the two of us? No Jason, Lauren, Alfred,  _or_ Bruce. Just you and me," Reese turned around and faced Dick, her brown eyes shining.

"Richard John Grayson, are you asking me on a date?" Despite everything, including the suggestive flirting he and Reese had been doing down in the Batcave earlier, Dick felt his face flush, but he recovered quickly and leaned in close until he and Reese were mere inches apart.

"And if I was, Rhysalin Blaire Devon Michaels?" he asked. "What would you say?" To Dick's absolute shock, Reese leaned in close and pressed her lips to his cheek, making Dick's face burn all the more.

"If you asked me on a date?" she asked, almost coy. Dick nodded, and almost as if she wanted to tease him more, Reese nosed her way down Dick's jawline and pressed her lips to a place just below his chin. "Then I would say yes," Before Dick was able to give an answer or regain his composure for that matter, Reese had let him go and walked out of her room, before sticking her head back inside. "Are you coming? Or would you rather just stay here?" Dick chuckled as he stepped towards her.

"Argent, if I were to stay here with you, I'd never end up leaving," It was an honest answer, and from the way, Reese's face turned a bright cherry red, she didn't think he was lying. "Also I don't really want to be around Bruce for the next several hours, so if you were to, I don't know, take  _forever_ in doing something, we'd be set," Reese gave a small chuckle before she grabbed Dick's arm and practically dragging him out. The two ran into Alfred as they were walking out, and the British butler looked at the two of them strangely, a mix of smugness and concern on his older face.

"And where, may I ask, are you two going?" Dick glanced over his shoulder as he put on his jacket. He knew Alfred would eventually tell Bruce where they were going no matter what they told him, so he only shrugged and turned back towards the door, not really wanting to face anyone except for Reese right now. He still felt bad about blowing up at Jason. The kid only wanted to help. Alfred's voice jerked him out of his thoughts. "Master Dick?"

"Because I know you'll just end up talking to Bruce anyway, no matter what I say, I'll just tell you that we'll be back later. Have Jason call me if anyone needs us," Before Alfred could answer, Dick wrapped one hand around the crook of Reese's elbow, and gently led her out of the manor. They had been walking for maybe half an hour when Dick suddenly groaned and ran a gloved hand over his face.

"You okay?" Reese asked, her brown eyes shining with concern. Dick glanced up at the sky, which had begun to snow thick, fluffy flakes, for a second, before he turned back towards Reese and gave her a soft smile.

"Yeah," he said quietly, before lacing his fingers with hers. "I actually am,"

**Gotham City Pier; December 31st, 12:30 EST**

Reese

Somehow, Reese and Dick ended up making their way to Gotham's pier, which, due to the falling snow that was now plaguing the city on New Year's Eve, was almost entirely devoid of people. Reese sat on the edge of the wooden platform, legs dangling over the edge, and watched the few boats that were in the harbor. Most people would say that she and Dick were crazy for wanting to be outside while it was snowing like this, but strangely, Reese found it to be calming.

"So, the guy in the warming house thought I was completely insane being out here right now, but he did make the hot chocolate, so it wasn't a complete bust," Reese glanced up when she heard Dick's voice, and saw Nightwing making his way over from the small warming house/shack that was on the far side of the pier. She stood up as Dick stopped in front of her and held one cup of hot chocolate towards her while he held on to the other one.

"When  _aren't_ we completely insane, Bluebird?" Reese quipped, and Dick cracked a small smile, which she was thankful for. After what happened with Bruce, Reese knew that Dick needed a break, even if he claimed that they were out here for  _her_ instead. And, in her bedroom, Dick had had a point. Batman and Aqualad had no authority over dictating the choices Reese made. Sure, they may be in charge of the Team, but Reese and Dick both knew that no one could tell Reese what she could or couldn't do.

"You know," Dick started after a few minutes of companionable silence, making Reese glance up at him. "Bruce is holding a party tonight. To 'Ring in the New Year', he said. Now, I'm not really one for parties, not really now since Bruce was being such an asshole earlier, so I was wondering..." he trailed off, and Reese glanced at him again, only to find Dick having a thoughtful look on his face, seeming to think hard about something.

"Dick, what is it?" Reese asked quietly, and Dick's eyes shot up, and Reese was met with cerulean eyes gazing into her own, dark brown eyes. Standing up quickly, Dick tossed his hot chocolate into a nearby trashcan, before taking Reese's and doing the same thing. She tried to protest, but Nightwing only held up a hand and stepped back.

"Hit me," he said simply, making Reese's eyes widen. She raised a single, skeptical eyebrow and stared at him in shock.

"Excuse me?" she asked, not entirely sure if she had heard him right, but Dick only held a hand out and made a motion as if to say, 'come and get me'. Reese shrugged for a second before balling a fist and throwing it towards Dick's head, but she wasn't surprised when his hand flew out and wrapped his fingers around Reese's wrist, stopping her hand inches from where it would've slammed into Dick's cheek.

"Good," Dick said, before letting go, and taking a step back. "Your strikes have power, but you need to learn to control your strength, and not go into a fight acting solely on impulse. You need to learn strategy, plan out how you want your attacks to happen _before_ you execute them," Reese gave him a dry look.

"This sounds like something Black Canary would tell Superboy," Dick chuckled and looked at Reese with amusement dancing in his eyes.

"It better," he said before a mock-sheepish look came over his face, and he scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I kind of stole it from her," Reese laughed, before she slapped the back of her hand playfully against Dick's chest.

"Richard John Grayson! Stealing is a very bad habit, you know this!" Dick rolled his eyes.

"Haha, very funny, Argent. Anyway, as I was saying earlier, instead of going to Bruce's party, which I am positive will be filled to the brim with a bunch of drunk old geezers who just want to combine their companies with Wayne Enterprises, or marry one of _us_ to one of  _their_ kids. So, if you  _don't_ want to get married before you're seventeen, I'd recommend not going to the party," 

Feeling a sudden burst of confidence, Reese walked forward until there were no more than a few inches between her and Dick. Memories from back in her bedroom earlier shot into Reese's head, but she quickly pushed them to the back of her mind and tilted her head towards Dick's. She saw him gulp, and mentally patted herself on the back.

"What else did you have in mind,  _Bluebird_?" Dick shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, but Reese saw right through his act and smirked when she noticed how flustered Nightwing was.

"Well, I, um, was wondering if you would like to spar with me. I want to train you, to be able to protect yourself, in case something were to happen with your powers, or if somehow, the mission goes south," Even though she didn't entirely like it, especially the mission-going-south part, but Reese also saw the logic behind Dick's reasoning.

"Okay," she said firmly after a few seconds as she thought it over. "I'll do it. But, how exactly will we avoid Bruce and Alfred long enough to be able to get out of going to the party?" Dick only smirked and hooked a thumb towards himself.

"Leave that to me,"

**Wayne Manor; December 31st, 18:45 EST**

Reese and Dick opened the door to Wayne Manor and poked their heads around the edge, only to be met with dozens of party-planners scurrying around, putting the finishing touches together for the party that was due to start in less than twenty minutes.

"You see Alfred?" Dick hissed in Reese's ear, and she glanced around for a moment before nodding her head.

"Yep, he's over by the fireplace, helping someone knock things off a list, I think," Sure enough, the former MI-6 Agent was standing next to one of the party planners, looking extremely bored. Making sure he didn't see them, Reese and Dick carefully shut the door, took off their coats, and began to creep across the foyer to the study, where they would go down to the Batcave when a voice from behind made them both freeze.

"What are you guys doing?" Reese turned around to see Jason and Lauren standing behind them, both with identical confused looks on their faces. Dick and Reese exchanged glances before Dick spoke.

"Just going down to the cave to do a little training. You know, you can never be too safe," Before either of them could answer, Dick had grabbed Reese's arm and dragged her into Bruce's study, where luckily, Batman wasn't in. Quickly opening the secret passage, Reese and Dick slipped down the stairs and into the Batcave, where they each threw their jackets onto an empty table and into the area Bruce used for training.

Inside there were rings that Dick used for his gymnastics, a salmon ladder, and a whole rack of training equipment that the rest of them used on a daily basis, including a few of Reese's bō staffs. In the center of the room were some mats that the five of them used for either sparring or something that would be very painful if it happened on a hard surface. Reese whipped her hair up into a high ponytail before turning back around, only to be met with a shirtless Dick Grayson.

Reese could feel her face heat up, and turned away quickly, but not before Dick caught it and gave her a smug smirk.

"Aw, Argent," he said teasingly as they both stepped onto the mat. "I hope I won't be too... _distracting_ ," Instead of showing Dick just how red her face was, Reese whipped around and swung her leg up in a kick at the same time, and Dick was only just able to dodge.

"You're too full of yourself, Bluebird," Reese quipped as the two of them circled each other on the mat. "Let's see how confident you are when I kick your ass," Dick only smirked, before he threw himself at Reese, but the girl caught his fist with one hand and used it to flip him over. Dick landed with an 'oomph' on the mat, and Reese stood over him with a triumphant smirk on her face. "How does it feel to admit defeat, Nightwing?" Before Dick could answer, he had swiped his legs against Reese and knocked her to the floor.

"Hmm," Dick mused as he stood over Reese. "The only one I see on the floor here is you," he held a hand out, and Reese took it gratefully. Dick pulled her up and glanced at her. "Never take your eyes off your opponent," he said seriously. "You don't know what kinds of tricks they may have up their sleeve," Speaking of tricks, Reese glanced over Dick's shoulder at the empty doorway and gave a sharp cry.

"Jason! What are you doing?" Dick whipped his head around, but Reese jumped and locked her feet around his waist before slamming him against the mat. Dick groaned as he realized he had let her get the drop on him, but Reese only laughed. Leaning close to Dick's ear, she whispered to it, "Never take your eyes off your opponent," Dick glanced around for a moment before he smirked, again.

"It seems the two of us tend to get into compromising positions often, doesn't it?" Reese looked down, and her face grew red as she realized that she was basically straddling Dick's lap, as Nightwing only grinned from his position underneath her. Deciding to stop beating around the bush and just go for it, Reese leaned down until she and Dck were nose-to-nose.

"What do you plan on doing about it, Nightwing?" she whispered, and Dick's eyes suddenly darkened to a deep cobalt blue, before he had flipped their positions and Reese was the one pinned to the mat.

"Depends," Dick rumbled, his voice lower and huskier than normal. "What do you think I should do?" Instead of answering, Reese let her fingers run through the hair on the back of Dick's neck. When her fingers brushed his nape, Dick shivered, and Reese smirked. She tugged Dick's head down and crashed his lips against hers. This kiss was different than the ones she had shared with Kaldur, Reese realized. This time, there were almost...sparks. Their lips moved in sync, fitting together almost like puzzle pieces. After several seconds, Reese separated from Dick with a gasp, and both of their faces were flushed.

"That was the second best kiss I have ever had," Dick said quietly, and Reese tilted her head.

"Second best?" she asked, and Dick nodded.

"The first was when you kissed me last year," Reese felt her face burn, but Dick only leaned forward again and placed a soft kiss against her lips. "You're so beautiful," he whispered and Reese gave a small smile.

"Why thank you, Bluebird, you're not too bad yourself," she leaned in to kiss him again, but to her surprise, Dick leaned back. "Dick, what's wrong?" Dick climbed off of her and started pacing in the training room.

"I care about you Reese," Dick said," A lot. But I don't want to just be your rebound after Kaldur," Reese stood up and walked towards Dick, but he only turned away from her. Reese reached out and placed one hand on Dick's cheek, and gently turned his head so they were facing each other.

"Richard, listen to me. I broke up with Kaldur because he was holding things back. The entire time I was gone, he knew where I was. But, he didn't go after me, instead, he had Red Arrow  _follow_ you, and report back to him," As she was speaking, Reese saw Nightwing tense out of the corner of her eye, and he was silent for a moment before his fist flashed out and slammed into a rack of bō staffs, knocking them to the floor.

"That's why..." Dick trailed off, and Reese could almost see him shaking with rage. "That bastard!" Reese knew that Nightwing and Aqualad had a shaky history, to say the least, but Reese had a feeling there was more to Dick and Kaldur's animosity than just jealousy over her.

"What happened?" Reese asked quietly, and Dick walked towards her, running a single hand through his jet-black hair.

"When I was looking for you, I ended up at Haly's Circus. As I was doing an old Flying Grayson's routine that Jack wanted me to try, I was almost hit with an arrow. A  _red_ arrow," Reese's eyes widened.

"Are you okay?" she asked, and Dick nodded.

"I'm fine, I caught it and the audience thought it was all part of the show. But, tied around the shaft there was a note. From Roy. It said that "She's in Kathmandu" and naturally, I thought it meant you,"

"Naturally," Reese rolled her eyes, trying to lighten the mood, but Dick didn't seem to appreciate it.

"This isn't a _joke_ , Rhysalin!" he shouted, stalking forward, and Reese knew the situation was serious because Dick only ever called her by her real name if he was angry or stressed. "Do you know what I went through, trying to find you? I went halfway around the world, only to almost lose you to Ra's al Ghul in Nanda Parbat! All because Kaldur couldn't bring himself to bring you home on his own. I can't lose you again!" He looked like he was about to start off on another rant, so Reese did the only thing she could think off.

She grabbed the sides of Dick's face and pressed a hard kiss to his lips, which Nightwing immediately reciprocated. After a few seconds, Reese let go and pressed her forehead against Dick's. She had never seen Dick lose control like that, but Reese figured that's what it was like when the person you love is in danger.

"You won't lose me, Bluebird," Reese whispered softly as she pressed her lips to Dick's cheek. "I promise," Dick leaned back and looked at Reese, his eyes shining with unshed tears.

"But what if I do?" his voice was so quiet Reese had to strain to hear it, and when she did Reese felt like crying herself. "Argent, you'll be with the Sporellis for who knows how long, and I'll have to watch you flirt with that...that..." he broke off, but Reese knew what he was trying to say, and she gave a small laugh, making Dick meet her eyes. "What's so funny?" Reese shook her head.

"Nothing," she said between giggles. "I just find it adorable that you think I'll have to flirt with Sporelli's son," Dick looked at her quizzically.

"Don't you?" he asked, and Reese shook her head again.

" _No_!" she chuckled. "Wonder Woman called me a few hours ago, while you were getting the hot chocolate, and told me that Celeste absolutely  _despises_ Guiliano Sporelli, so it won't be a surprise when "she" doesn't return any of his flirts," Dick nodded, but Reese noticed he still looked a bit apprehensive.

"Tell you what," she said, grabbing each of Dick's hands in her own. "Since you're my 'handler' for this mission, I'll let you follow me around, make sure Sporelli doesn't get too...you know..." Dick seemed to think about it or a moment before he nodded. "Okay then, what do you say we-" Reese had been about to say something, when Dick's mouth was suddenly covering her own, cutting off whatever she'd been about to say.

Reese and Dick stumbled back until Reese's back hit the wall of the training room, and then Dick detached his lips from Reese's and started to press feathery kisses along her jawline until he got to the bottom of her ear, then went back down to do the other side. 

"Dick," Reese whispered as Nightwing began to run his tongue along Reese's bottom lip.

"Hmm?"

"What if someone walks in on us?" Dick moved his head until he was looking at Reese, and his blue eyes were shining with amusement.

"Don't worry, I changed the code to get into the Batcave. No one's coming down here anytime soon," Reese leaned back and stared at Dick for a moment before she started laughing.

"You locked Batman and Robin out of the Batcave?" she asked, and Dick shrugged.

"How else was I supposed to get you alone?" Reese gave a small chuckle before she pressed her lips against Dick's and nipped his bottom lip.

"What else do you propose we do then, Nightwing?" Instead of answering, Dick lifted Reese up until her legs wrapped around his waist and carried her over to a small door. Opening it, the two of them stepped inside, and Dick shut the door, only to open it again and reveal the inside of Dick's bedroom closet.

Downstairs, Bruce's party was still going full-tilt, considering it was less than thirty seconds until midnight, but inside the bedroom of Dick Grayson, it seemed like he and Reese were the only two people in the world. Dick walked forward until his knees hit the edge of the bed, making them both fall onto the quilt.

_Ten..._

Dick hooked his fingers under the hem of Reese's shirt and pulled it over her head, making it land somewhere on his bedroom floor.

_Nine..._

Reese hooked her legs around Dick's waist and flipped them over so she was straddling his lap.

_Eight..._

She pressed a searing kiss to Dick's lips and ran her fingers through his black hair.

_Seven..._

Dick flipped over so Reese's back was against the quilt and kissed his way down her neck, stopping in the hollow of her throat when he heard Reese suck in a sharp breath.

_Six..._

"Do I  _distract_ you, Rhysalin Blaire?"

_Five..._

"Probably not as much as I distract  _you_ , Richard John Grayson,"

_Four..._

Reese looked up to find Dick gazing down at her with pure emotion in his cerulean eyes.

_Three..._

"I've never felt anything like how I feel about you, Argent,"

_Two..._

"Good, because I love you, Richard John Grayson."

_One..._

"I love you too, Rhysalin Blaire."

_Happy New Year..._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is called Grayson vs. Sporelli, and that one I'm so looking forward to


	8. Chapter 7...Shift to Disappear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an incident at a convention in Central City with Wally, Artemis, Jason, Lauren, a man named Luca Caffaro, and a bomb, Reese and Dick must learn to navigate their new relationship and face the fact that Reese's shifting powers are slowly going away. Maybe Amanda Waller will be able to shed some light on this new development. Of course, that also means that Reese and Dick will now have to sneak into a bar underage. Add in a suspicious bartender and a kidnapping, and you're in for quite a wild ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to put both the convention and the Fundraiser in this chapter, but I realized that it wouldn't flow as well and it would be way too long, so Grayson vs. Sporelli will be the next chapter, instead of this one.

**Wayne Manor; January 1st, 09:25 EST**

Reese

On the morning of New Year's Day, Reese blinked her eyes open to find Dick gazing at her with a soft smile on his face. They hadn't actually taken that certain step last night, but finally being able to confess her feelings for Richard Grayson had more than made up for it.

"Good morning," Dick said softly before pressing a warm kiss to her lips.

"Hey yourself," Reese said, running her hands along Dick's toned chest. "Did you really mean what you said last night?" Dick tilted his head, and Reese waited with bated breath.

"When I said that I love you?" he asked, and Reese nodded, somewhat nervous. Dick smiled again. "Only if you meant what _you_ said. Did you?" Reese bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Then I meant it," He leaned down again until they were barely an inch apart. "And I'll say it again," he kissed her forehead, "and again," her nose, "and again," her lips, "because I will never stop loving you Rhysalin Blaire Devon Michaels," Reese felt her face heat up at his words, and she gave him a smile.

"That was cheesy, even for you," Dick shrugged as he rolled so he was hovering over Reese.

"You love it though," Reese raised an eyebrow at him and tilted her head.

"Do I?" she asked teasingly. "Do I really?" Dick smirked and pressed his lips to Reese's for a split second before leaning away, leaving Reese wanting more.

"You do, Argent," Dick chuckled. "If you didn't then last night wouldn't have happened," Reese tilted her head as she played along.

"True. Now, are we going to get up or just stay in bed all day?" The look on Dick's face when she asked that made Reese's face turn red all over again, but she didn't let that faze her. Using her feet, Reese pushed Dick off of her and he collapsed back onto the other side of the bed where he lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. Turning over herself, Reese leaned on her elbow, holding her head in one hand as she faced him. After a few seconds, Dick spoke.

"We should get up," he said quietly, and Reese nodded before laying back down on her back next to him.

"We really should," Reese shifted so her head was laying on Dick's bare chest, and she shut her eyes to listen to his heartbeat. "but I don't really want to," Dick chuckled, and Reese felt the vibrations on his chest.

"Neither do I, but I think Alfred will be coming in here soon, and I would like to get you to myself for at least a  _few_ more minutes," Reese smiled and Dick leaned his head towards her, but just as they were about to kiss, someone pounded on Dick's bedroom door, making both of them jump.

"Yo, Dickie-bird!" a familiar voice shouted, and Reese mentally face-palmed. "If you're done making out with Reese in there,  _some_ of us would like to spend some time with their oldest friend. Or, you know...I could just walk in there and..."

"Enough Wally!" Dick shouted as he got out of bed, threw Reese her shirt, and opened his door, to reveal the smug, grinning face of Kid Flash. "You need something?" Dick asked, and Reese flopped back down onto the bed, covering her face with a pillow.

"Uh, yeah," Wally stammered. "I mean, Artemis and I were in the neighborhood, and I was just wondering..."

"No," Dick said before he slammed the door in Wally's face. Or at least, he tried to, but the ginger speedster stuck his foot between the door and door jam just before it closed.

"Come on dude. It's been forever since we hung out. First, it was Reese leaving, then Aqualad put you in a coma, then  _you_ left, and..." Reese heard Dick sigh.

"Fine. What did you have in mind?" Reese moved the pillow away from her face, and when she saw the wide grin that was on Wally's, Reese groaned and slammed the pillow back down. Maybe, if she fell asleep, this would all just be a dream and Wally wouldn't be here right now.

"Well, now that you mention it, Artemis has been saying something about wanting to check out this new thing that popped up in Central City a few days ago," at this, Reese sat up and stared at Wally skeptically.

"What kind of thing?" she asked, and Wally smirked, sticking his head around Dick so he could meet her eyes.

"Why the Sleeping Beauty awakens. Did you sleep well?" the question was innocent enough, but when you were dealing with Kid Flash you could never be too sure. 

"Can it, West," Reese grumbled, still a bit pissed off that she and Dick had been interrupted. "Now, what did Artemis want to do?"

"Oh, I am  _so_ glad you asked," Reese glanced at Dick from the corner of her eye, only to be met with his own cerulean orbs staring at her with the same skeptical look. Well, this should be interesting.

**Central City; January 1st 11:30 CST**

"You brought us to a  _superhero_ convention?" Reese heard Dick's indignant voice cry out as soon as the four of them, plus Jason and Lauren, stepped inside an indoor stadium in the Flash's hometown. Sure enough, all around them were people dressed in various costumes, mainly depicting the Justice League, but there were a few of Robin, Nightwing, and Kid Flash thrown in there as well.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Wally cried, holding up his hands in an "I surrender" gesture. "You said you guys wanted to do something, and this here?" He threw his arms up to try and encompass the whole stadium. "This is a something," Reese could see that Dick was on the verge on exploding, so she pushed her way between them and turned her head towards Wally.

"You also said that this whole thing was Artemis's idea, so Dick isn't entirely at fault here," the blonde archer, who'd been walking on Wally's other side, suddenly jerked her head around to meet Reese's eyes.

"And you  _believed_ him when he said this was my idea?" Reese just rolled her eyes in response, before catching sight of a booth on the far side of the stadium. It was one dedicated to Green Arrow, and Reese had always found it fascinating how Oliver Queen was able to make his arrows out of whatever sort of metallic element he could find, and if the people running the booth were as fanatic as she thought they were, this would be a prime opportunity to try and figure out a way to make her own arrows, in case something were to somehow happen to her powers.

"Come on," she said suddenly, grabbing Artemis and Lauren and dragging them towards the booth.

"Hey!" she heard Dick cry from behind them. "Where are you going?" Reese glanced back over her shoulder, to see Wally, Dick, and Jason standing in the middle of the floor, looking absolutely lost.

"We'll catch up with you guys later!" Reese called back before she turned around again and dragged her sister and Artemis over to the Green Arrow booth. As soon as they were out of earshot, the three of them burst out laughing.

"I can't believe you did that!" Artemis gasped between laughs as they approached the booth. Reese shook her head.

"I know, and I can't believe Dick thinks he still needs to wear sunglasses  _indoors_ ," The booth was being run by a man who looked a few years older than Artemis, maybe twenty-one, with slick black hair, olive skin, and black eyes. Reese felt like she had seen him somewhere before, but she couldn't place it.

"Ciao!" The man burst out as the three reached the booth. "Would you like to see some merchandise?" Reese found it a bit strange that he had greeted them in Italian, but she didn't think much of it. Nodding excitedly, Reese watched as the man bent down to grab something from underneath his table, and her eyes widened when a large cardboard box was suddenly dropped on the plastic folding table.

Reaching inside, the man pulled out a tray of what looked like arrowheads and set them down. Reese bent over them and reached out to grab one, before looking back up at the man, unsure. There was something off about his expression, she was sure of it, but he gave her a small nod of permission, and Reese grabbed a shiny black and silver arrowhead from the center of the tray.

"Ah, _that_ arrowhead is made of a titanium-obsidian composite," the man said, sounding strangely approved. "It's an excellent choice. The sharpest and strongest materials and metals in the world. Able to cut through  _anything_ with ease," Reese glanced up when the man emphasized anything and looked over her shoulder at Artemis and Lauren, to see that they had identical expressions of suspicion on their faces.

"Hey, Lauren?" Reese asked suddenly, getting a sinking feeling in her stomach. "Can you go and find Jason and the guys? We'll meet you in a few minutes by the pretzel stand, okay?" Lauren didn't seem like she wanted to leave but relented when Reese gave a pleading look. Good, the farther Lauren was away from this booth, the safer she'd be...because Reese had a  _really_ bad feeling.

"Is Jason your boyfriend?" the man asked once Lauren was gone, and Reese set the obsidian arrowhead down before standing up, Artemis coming to hover behind her right shoulder.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Reese retorted coolly, her eyes narrowing when suddenly Artemis's phone buzzed as the man began to speak again.

"I didn't mean to offend you," he said, smirking. "It was only an innocent question... _Celeste_ ," Reese's eyes widened as she suddenly recognized the man, and Artemis's elbow dug into her ribs. The blonde archer shot the man a mock-sympathetic smile, before taking Reese's shoulder and spinning her around, practically shoving her phone into Reese's hands once their backs were turned. On the screen was a text from Wally, along with a picture.

**From: Wally**

**Dick just told me he got a message from the B-man saying that this guy was at the convention. And since Uncle Barry is out of town with Iris for some sort of vacay, he wants us to keep an eye out for him since the Flash can't be here, and apparently, Alfred told Bruce we were in the area. Text Dick if you see him...**

The picture was a mug shot of the man from the Green Arrow booth, only this time there was a name. Luca Caffaro. Caffaro...Reese's head shot up as she realized where she had seen the man before. When Batman had been briefing her and Dick about the mission, he had mentioned something about the trafficking operation Green Arrow and Black Canary had stopped in Star City. The deal had been between the Sporellis...and the Caffaros.

"Find the others," Reese hissed out of the side of her mouth so Luca wouldn't be able to hear. "Tell them to get over here ASAP," Artemis looked skeptical, but Reese pushed her towards where they had last seen Dick, Wally, and Jason, before turning back to Caffaro.

"I'm sorry," she said, fake sweetness, dripping from her voice. "Did you call me Celeste?" Caffaro sneered and tilted his head to the side.

"That is your name, is it not? Only, last time we met, you were not able to speak English," Reese forced a laugh out and was glad to see that Caffaro's smug face melted into one of confusion.

"I don't know  _who_ you think I am, but I assure you, my name isn't Celeste... _Caffaro_ ," the sneer returned, and Luca tilted his head back and let out an evil-sounding cackle.

"You know who  _I_ am," he mused. "But I realize now that I don't know who you are. Mind telling me your name?" Reese scoffed and placed her left hand on the table.

"As if," she said, but her eyes widened when Luca suddenly wrapped his fingers around Reese's wrist and yanked her hand towards him. She barely had a chance to process things before the obsidian arrowhead had sliced across her palm, making bright-red blood instantly rush to the surface. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Reese cried, but Caffaro's grin only widened, and he threw down the arrowhead and a look of concern came onto his face.

"Oh my goodness!" he cried, and Reese stared at him, wondering at the sudden mood change when she noticed that there were other people standing behind her. Caffaro suddenly grabbed a small towel from the other end of the table and wrapped it around Reese's hands, stopping the blood flow, but not before he squeezed it, bringing through another burst of pain. "I will take you to get this cleaned up. Nothing to see here folks!" Caffaro cried, before dragging Reese down into one of the tunnels the sports teams would use whenever they came onto the floor.

Once they were out of sight of everybody, Caffaro whipped out a jagged blade and leveled it against Reese's throat. The girl gulped and felt the metal edge prick her skin. Luca led her into an empty storage room, where he locked the door.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, you little bitch, but if you think you can just come up to me and accuse me of being some sort of crime lord, you have another thing coming," Feeling some of her lost confidence return, Reese smirked at Caffaro as the man finished his monologue.

"Did I ever say anything about you being a crime lord?" she said mockingly. "I don't  _think_ I did, but maybe you can refresh my memory," Suddenly, the tip of Luca's blade was pressed against Reese's neck, and it left a thin bead of blood when Caffaro pulled it away.

"I'll do more than just refresh your memory, girlie," he growled quietly, before taking a zip tie out of his pocket and using it to restrain Reese's hands to the side of a metal shelf. "Stay here," It was as if Reese wasn't able to keep her mouth shut.

"Oh really?" she said sarcastically. "Where the hell do you think I'm gonna go?" The only response she got was a blade pressed against her throat, and she backed off...for a few seconds at least. "You're going to regret this," Caffaro scoffed.

"Is that so?" he asked rhetorically, and Reese nodded. "And who's going to stop me?" Reese opened her mouth, but Luca cut her off before she could answer. "Do you mean those friends of yours that you came with? I highly doubt they'll get here in time to save you," Caffaro suddenly took a medium-sized object from the inside pocket of his jacket and Reese felt her mouth dry up when she realized what it was. "Not when you have less than seven minutes to live," 

Luca strapped the bomb to the shelf right next to Reese's head and set the timer for seven minutes and thirty seconds. Reese jerked her hands, trying to break the zip tie, but to no avail. All she got was a skin abrasion on her wrist.

"You'll pay, you know that right?" Luca shook his head, as if exasperated, and opened the door to the storage room.

"Yes, you've already said that. But, how will your 'friends' be able to rescue you when they're outside with the rest of the people here? After I announce that there is a bomb in the stadium, they'll be evacuated with everyone else," Reese gave a dry chuckle. This guy had no idea who he was dealing with.

"Oh, and by the way?" Reese added as Luca stepped out of the room into the tunnel. "The 'Jason' who you think is my boyfriend? He's ten, and basically my little brother. Next time, get your facts straight," Caffaro didn't answer, instead, he shut the storage room door with a slam. When he was gone, Reese looked around, but all she could see was the bomb, which was now down to five-and-a-half minutes.

"Come on, Bluebird," she whispered as the seconds ticked down closer to zero. "Hurry,"

Dick

"I can't believe they had this much Flash merch at one booth!" Dick rolled his eyes at Wally's excited shout and flicked his sunglasses up to stare incredulously at Kid Flash, who was currently carrying an armful of his mentor's memorabilia, while Jason was carrying even more stuff, everything from plushies to a World's Fastest Man coffee mug, though why Wally needed that, Dick had no idea.

"It's a superhero convention in the Flash's hometown," Dick grumbled. "What did you expect?" he was still a bit peeved that Reese had dragged Artemis and Lauren off who knows where. Dick had been hoping to spend at least a little bit of time with Reese, to make up for what Wally interrupted this morning.

Before Wally was given a chance to answer, the three guys were interrupted by Lauren, who came skidding to a stop right next to Jason. Her face was flushed, and she was breathing hard as if she'd been running.

"Hey Lauren," Jason greeted her, obviously happy to see his crush. "What's up?"

"Artemis...Reese...creepy dude...booth..." Lauren braced her hands on her knees, catching her breath, but Wally and Dick were just confused. Before Dick could say anything though, his phone buzzed and he dug it out of his coat pocket. On the screen was a text from Bruce, along with a photo attachment.

**From: Bruce**

**Keep a lookout for this man, Luca Caffaro. Part of the crime family that GA and BC helped capture in Star City along with A. Sporelli. Intel tells me he might be at whatever superhero convention Wally dragged you guys too. He's very dangerous, and also has a history with Celeste Ricci. Make sure Reese knows that he's here. We don't want him to catch her off-guard.**

Dick took a quick glance at the photo attached to the text message, before forwarding the text to Wally, who in turn sent it to Artemis. Dick knew for a fact that Reese had forgotten her phone back in Gotham, which is why he'd sent it to KF instead.

"Lauren?" Dick asked once Reese's sister had caught her breath and was standing upright again. "What did the 'creepy man' at the booth with Artemis and Reese look like?" Lauren seemed to think about it for a moment before shrugging.

"Early twenties, black hair, beady eyes. Reese seemed suspicious about him for some reason," Dick turned his phone around so the screen with Caffaro's picture on it was facing Lauren.

"Did he look like this?" Lauren studied it for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, that's him? Why, is something wrong?" Dick ran his hands through his hair, before turning to Jason.

"Take Lauren and get out of here," he told Robin firmly, and the younger bird nodded before grabbing Lauren's wrist and dragging her towards the exit, just as Artemis sprinted up to them, a fearful look on her face.

"We have a problem," she said, and Wally nodded.

"We know," he said simply as Dick headed over to a nearby empty table that held a strangely specific arsenal of weapons. Mainly,  _their_ weapons. The Team's, anyway. Grabbing a bow and quiver, and a pair of eskrima sticks, Dick headed back over to the other two heroes. Tossing the bow and quiver to Artemis, Dick handled the eskrima sticks with care as suddenly, Luca Caffaro burst out of one of the stadium's tunnels and hopped up onto a stage that had been erected in the center of the floor.

"Everyone! Please listen to me!" he shouted, making everyone at the convention pause what they were doing and look up at him. "There is currently a bomb in the stadium, so what you all need to do is go through an exit out of the convention in an orderly fashion and-" he was suddenly cut off as the massive crowd of people surged towards the exits, their sudden panic separating Dick from the others.

"Wally!" he cried. "Artemis!" there was a sudden flash of yellow before Kid Flash was standing in front of Dick, Artemis just behind, both of them in their costumes. By now the stadium had emptied of people, leaving only the three of them, plus Caffaro, who was currently trying to escape out of a back exit.

"Where's Reese?" Artemis gasped out, and Dick shook his head before his eyes landed on Luca. He would know. Caffaro was probably the one who took Reese in the first place.

"Caffaro," Dick said simply, jerking his head in the criminal's direction. "He'll know. KF, book him." Wally smirked before he sped over to Luca and tied the perp's hands behind his back with a zip tie. It took about thirty seconds so in that time frame, Dick shucked off his jacket, revealing his Nightwing costume underneath.

"You wear your suit under your clothes?" Artemis asked incredulously, and Dick raised an eyebrow, the faintest bit smug.

"Never leave home without it," he said, placing an extra domino mask on his face, before taking the eskrima sticks and heading over to where Wally was currently holding Luca.

"You have less than five minutes," Caffaro said simply. "before she  _dies_ ," as if his body was relying solely on impulse, Nightwing's hand flashed out and wrapped itself around the mobster's throat, jerking him out of KF's grasp and holding him close.

"How do we disarm the bomb?" Dick growled. "We know you set it Caffaro, so tell us how to  _disarm_ it. Or  _you'll_ be the one who dies," Instead of giving in, Luca gave a dry cackle, before he looked back at Dick, his eyes dark with malice.

"A little tense, aren't we Nightwing?" he asked smugly, tilting his head. "Is it because of the casualties that could come from the civilians that may be caught in the explosion, or the girl that I handcuffed to the shelf right beside the bomb? Do you have a... _connection_ with her, perhaps? How bad you must feel knowing that she'll die before you ever get a chance at a real relation-" Dick's other hand curled itself into a fist before slamming into Caffaro's cheek, slamming him to the ground and knocking Luca out cold.

"I hate mobsters," Dick growled before he started walking towards the tunnel that Caffaro had come out of before the bomb announcement was made. He could hear a faint pounding sound coming from farther down the tunnel, so Dick began to run until he got to the closed door of what appeared to be a locked storage room.

"Nightwing?" a familiar voice cried when Dick slammed against the door, trying to open it. "Is that you?" Nightwing gave a breathy laugh before taking out his lockpicks and placing them in the keyhole.

"Reese, how much time is left on the bomb?" There was a moment of silence, presumably by Reese checking the timer, before her voice was back, only this time it was smaller, meeker than Dick had ever heard it before.

"Ninety seconds," Reese said quietly, and Dick clenched his eyes shut behind his mask before he felt the lock give way beneath his nimble fingers and the door swung open to reveal Reese, her hands zip-tied to a metal shelving unit, the bomb on the shelf next to her, the timer just hitting sixty. Dick ran towards Reese as Wally and Artemis reached the door, only to stop dead as they saw the bomb, which by now had reached forty-five.

"Nightwing, what do we need to do?" Artemis asked, and Dick looked up from where he was trying to saw through Reese's bounds. It would've been so much easier to cut through if he'd brought some batarangs, but alas, all he had were the eskrima sticks.

"Wally, I need you to open the control panel and tell me what color wires there are," he said.

"Thirty seconds," Artemis cut in, and Dick took a deep breath before tuning her voice out and instructing Wally, while he was still cutting away Reese's restraints.

"If there are a red, green, blue, and orange wire, I need you to cross the orange and green  _underneath_ the blue wire and cross the red wire over the top of the blue wire." Using his superspeed, Wally did as he said, and the timer froze for a moment, before the screen that showed the time shut off. Dick exhaled heavily before he felt the zip ties that were holding Reese's hands together loosen.

They fell away, and Dick wrapped his arms tightly around Reese as soon as he was sure she was okay. So many different scenarios had flashed through Dick's head when Caffaro had said that Reese was in the same room, restrained and unable to get away, that he'd been tempted to just threaten Luca himself so he would disarm the bomb.

"Are you okay?" Dick asked, giving Reese a glancing examination, only to stop when he saw that her left hand was covered in blood. Wrapping his fingers around her wrist, Dick turned Reese's hand over to see a massive cut on the inside of her palm. "What happened?" he asked quietly, trying not to explode.

"Caffaro," Reese said simply, making Nightwing look up at her. "I guess he needed a reason to lock me in here, so at the booth, Caffaro took an arrowhead and sliced my palm open, then played it off as an accident so no one would get suspicious." A sudden thought ran through Dick's mind, and he turned back to Wally and Artemis.

"What did you guys do with Caffaro?" he asked, and KF smirked.

"Locked him to one of the railings by the stands," he said, and Nightwing took out a roll of gauze and wrapped up Reese's hand.

"We'll bandage that up better once we get back to the Manor," he said before the four of them went out a back exit to the stadium, where Jason was waiting with Lauren. After a second, Artemis and Wally went back inside to grab Caffaro.

"Are you two okay?" Reese asked Jason and Lauren, and her sister shrugged.

"We're fine. Jason got me out before the whole pandemonium thing, so we were safe. I  _should_ be asking you that though. I mean, Reese, you almost got blown up.  _Again_!" From the corner of his eye, Dick saw that Reese looked stricken. He didn't blame her, he was shocked at Lauren's outburst himself.

"Aw," an accented voice called out, making Dick turn around to see a woozy Luca Caffaro being led over to them by Artemis, who had a firm grip on his upper arm. "Family troubles, is it? Too bad. Maybe I should've just let you die when the bomb exploded," Reese's face paled, and Dick suddenly remembered that both of Reese and Lauren's parents had died in an explosion as well. Being locked in the storage room must have brought back some painful memories. He made to go over to Caffaro, probably to knock him out again, but Reese beat him to it.

"Don't.  _Ever_. Talk about my family again, you bastard," the girl growled before she slammed a rock against the side of Luca's head, making the gangster drop to the snow-covered ground, unconscious. Wally let out a low whistle before turning to Reese.

"Damn," he said simply. "Remind me to never piss you off," As the six of them started walking towards the Zeta tube that would take them back to Gotham, Dick jogged forward until he was walking side-by-side with Reese. Something had been nagging him since they got her out of the storage room, and Dick was desperately hoping that he wasn't right.

"Hey," he said quietly, making Reese look up at him. "Why didn't you shift when you were locked in the storage room? If you had turned into a tiger, the ties would've snapped as your paws grew." Reese took a shaky breath, and Dick stepped and turned around in front of her so they were facing each other.

"I  _couldn't_ ," Reese said quietly. "It was just like what happened at Christmas. I tried to shift, but it wasn't working. All I got was the frequency from the bomb and a splitting headache," she looked up at Dick, and Nightwing was shocked to see that there were tears brimming in Reese's dark brown eyes.

"Argent, what is it?"

"Something's  _wrong_ , Richard. Something's wrong with my powers, and I don't know what will happen to me. Will I just turn human again? Or will whatever is happening end up killing me?" Dick couldn't bear that Reese was actually talking like that.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Dick cried, grabbing onto Reese's shoulder's and holding her in place. " _Nothing_ is going to happen to you. I promise. We are going to find out what is going on with your powers, and see if there is a way to reverse it. I promise. Unless you don't  _want_ your powers anymore?" Dick wasn't sure why Reese  _wouldn't_ want the power to turn into animals, but if it came down to being human, or a  _meta_ -human, it was her choice.

Reese gave a shaky breath, and her shoulders sagged. Over Reese's shoulder, Dick caught Wally's eye, and he gestured for Kid Flash to leave them alone. 

"It's not that I don't want them," Reese said quietly, making Dick turn his attention back to her. "It's just..." she collapsed onto a nearby bench, and Dick sat down next to her, waiting patiently for her to continue. "Those powers? They made me kill people. That wasn't  _me_ , that was the Silver X. If that's what happens when I lose control, I'm going to become a ticking time-bomb. With a  _really_ short fuse," Dick thought about what she had said for a minute before turning back to Reese.

"So, you're saying that if it turns out that your powers are somehow going away, you  _don't_ want me to figure out a way to bring them back?" Reese nodded, and Dick took a deep breath.

"I don't want to risk anyone else getting hurt because of me," she said softly, and Dick nodded once before he leaned over and pressed his lips to Reese's temple.

"I know I've said this before, but what happened to Leo, Luke, Vincent, Wilmer? Those incidents weren't your fault. But, if getting rid of your powers is what you want, then I'll stand by you, no matter what,"

**Batcave; January 3rd, 13:50 EST**

Reese

"You're sure you want to do this?" Dick asked, sounding unsure, and Reese nodded. It was a few days later, and Reese and Dick were currently in the small med-bay that was situated in the Batcave, getting ready to take a sample of Reese's DNA to see what exactly was going on with her powers. The bad thing was, no one else knew they were doing this. Not Bruce, the Team, nobody. So, if anything were to go wrong, it would be entirely their fault. 

"Just get on with it already," Reese said, itching to study her genes to see what was going on. Dick sighed and stepped towards her with a small syringe. Swabbing the inside of Reese's elbow with rubbing alcohol, before centering the needle over a certain spot.

"This may sting," he said softly. "You can still back out before we go any further," Reese shook her head. They were already this close to discovering the truth, she didn't want to give up without finding anything out whatsoever.

"Do it," she said, and Dick pressed the needle into the soft flesh, and Reese gave a small hiss of pain as her blood was drawn into the syringe. After a few seconds, Dick withdrew the needle and laid a bandage over the small wound.

"You okay?" he asked, sounding concerned, and Reese nodded.

"I'm fine," she said, before taking the syringe and heading back into the main cave. "Let's study my DNA."

Once next to the Batcomputer, Reese handed the vial of blood back to Dick, and Nightwing stepped over to a scanner and set the vial underneath it. As it was scanned, Reese turned to Dick, a bit nervous.

"What will we do if something's wrong?" she asked quietly, and Reese saw Dick's back muscles tense as he watched the blood get put into the Batcomputer's database. After a second, as the information showed up on the monitor, Dick turned back to Reese, and she was shocked to see the determination that was in Nightwing's cerulean eyes.

"We do whatever we can to stop it," he said simply. "Because I won't let you die again," for a second, Reese flashbacked to Alaska a year ago, when the two of them, plus Robin and Aqualad, had first encountered Kallik, and the woman had poisoned Reese by making her drink Foxglove tea. Just for the sake of fact, Reese wondered...how long had Nightwing been in love with her before they'd finally admitted their feelings at New Year's?

Reese opened her mouth to ask exactly that, but the shrill beeping from the scanner interrupted her, and it signified that the DNA was ready. As Dick read through the results, Reese wandered up to where the glass pods held the Batfamily's suits. There was the Batman suit, Nightwing's, Dick's old Robin uniform, Jason's newer Robin costume, Barbara's Batgirl uniform, and Reese's own ensemble. She couldn't help but wonder though...if she would ever put on the Silver X costume again.

"That's impossible," Dick's breathless observation caught Reese's attention, and she leaned over the balcony's railing to look down at Dick where he was still standing by the Batcomputer.

"What is it?" she asked, and Dick looked up at her.

"You need to see this," he said quietly, and Reese quickly headed back down the stairs to stand by Dick's side. Nightwing gestured to two files on the screen, and Reese looked up at them. Both were strands of her DNA, with splotches of what Reese could only imagine being the Silver X in random places along the double helix.

The anomaly though was the second file. It was the DNA from the blood sample they had just taken, and while there were still multiple silver splotches, there wasn't nearly as many as the older strand, from when Reese first received her powers. That could only mean...

"My powers," Reese said quietly, barely daring to believe it. "They're disappearing," she turned to Dick, who was still in shock over their discoveries. "Dick, what does it mean?" when he didn't react, Reese tried to get his attention. "Dick? Richard? _Nightwing_!" Dick's eyes cleared and he looked down at Reese.

"Sorry," he said simply. "Did you say something?" Reese rolled her eyes.

"I _said_ , we should look into why exactly my powers are disappearing. Who created the Silver X?" Reese knew for a fact that after Alaska, Dick had done some digging and found out the origins of the Silver X chemical and D.A.W.N Academy, but he'd never shared them. Dick's eyes suddenly lit up, and he hurried up the stairs to the costume pods and opened the one that held Nightwing's suit and mask.

"Get dressed," he said hurriedly, before leaning back over the railing, a smirk on his lips. "We have a CEO to interrogate."

**Washington D.C; January 3rd, 21:00 EST**

From the top of a building in D.C, Silver X and Nightwing watched as Amanda Waller left the now-rebuilt Project CADMUS lab, and headed to her car. As she left the parking lot, Dick opened up his holo-computer to map out the route the car was taking, using the tracker they'd placed on it when they'd first arrived in Washington.

"You think she's heading home?" Reese asked, and to her dismay, Dick shook his head.

"No. Waller's not like that. Ever since I found out that she was the one who headed up the Silver X project, I started following her. Not in person, of course, but using her schedule to get her whereabouts. It seems that, every Thursday night she heads to this one bar in Annapolis, gets a few drinks, then hails a cab home, only to pick her car up the next evening," Reese glanced at Nightwing from the corner of her eye as they leaped across the rooftops, trying to keep Waller's car in sight.

"You think she's headed there now?" Reese asked as the two of them dropped into an empty alley, where Nightwing's motorcycle was waiting. As he hopped on, Dick tossed Reese an extra helmet, and he revved the engine to make sure it was running.

"Positive. For the past six months she's been going to this bar, and this bar alone, for drinks on Thursday nights. I don't see why she'd quit now," Reese nodded in agreement as she sat behind Nightwing and set the helmet on her head before sitting on the back of the seat and wrapping her arms around Dick's waist.

"What are we waiting for then?" she asked. "Let's get going. I want to be back in Gotham by midnight," Reese could see Dick smirk before he flipped the visor on his helmet down and they sped into the busy streets of the nightlife of Washington D.C, chasing down a lead that would either heed more questions than answers, or finally get Nightwing and Silver X the answers they need. Only time will tell for now.

**\------**

Dick parked the bike in another alley about a block away from Club Indigo, where Waller was getting her drink, and tossed a duffel bag towards Reese, who snatched it out of the air before it could hit her in the face.

"Put those on," Dick said, opening his own duffel bag and pulling out a leather jacket. "We need to blend in with the crowd, and I don't think dressing up as Nightwing and Silver X will do that," Reese had to admit, Dick had a point, and she unzipped the duffel, revealing a long-sleeved keyhole blouse in an apple green color that Reese immediately fell in love with. At the bottom of the bag were a pair of stretchy black jeggings and a pair of silver ballet flats, and she could only wonder how Dick got them in such a short time-frame.

"Artemis," Nightwing said simply when Reese raised the shoes in question. "I told her I needed party clothes for something, so she just sent the outfit over. Now, get dressed." Reese rolled her eyes, but complied, but not before she went into a shadowy corner, away from Dick's line of sight. They were sort of dating now, she guessed, but there still had to be at least some semblance to privacy.

When they were both ready, Reese took Dick's offered arm, and after making sure Nightwing's motorcycle was properly hidden, the two of them got in the back of the line that was moving into the entrance to Club Indigo. After a few minutes, Reese and Dick were maybe three-quarters of the way up the line, when a sudden thought went through Reese's head, and she grabbed Dick's arm to hold him in place.

"Argent, what is it?" he asked quietly as they approached the club bouncer, a buff man with multiple tattoos that showed above his suit collar.

"IDs?" Reese hissed through the side of her mouth so no one else would be able to hear. "Dick, we're not even eighteen yet. Tell me you got something for that," Nightwing smirked, and glanced around for a minute before sliding two slim pieces of plastic out of his left coat pocket, and slipped one into Reese's hand in the same instant.

"Did you really think we'd confront Waller here if I wasn't prepared?" Reese couldn't see Dick's eyes from behind his sunglasses, but she could see the amused smirk that was on his lips.

"Do I even want to know why you have a pair of fake IDs in your pocket?" she asked, and Dick shrugged.

"Probably not."

"IDs?" the bouncer asked gruffly, and Reese and Dick handed them over. The man looked over them for a minute and raised a skeptical eyebrow before looking back towards Reese. "You two sure you're over twenty-one?" he asked, and Dick shrugged.

"Of course," he said smoothly, and Reese had to commend Nightwing on his lying skills. "Just had my twenty-second birthday on the fifth of December, and my girlfriend here turns twenty-two in three months," Reese knew for a fact that Dick's birthday was December  _1st_ , not the fifth, and Reese's own birthday was March 6th. The bouncer still looked skeptical, and Dick, whose arm had been wrapped around Reese's waist, tightened his hold, a signal to run if they needed to. Fortunately, it seemed like luck was on their side tonight.

A sudden commotion from farther down the line caught everyone's attention, and Reese and Dick turned around to see two men grappling with each other on the sidewalk. Both men were obviously drunk, and the situation called for the bouncer to break up the fight, giving Dick and Reese a prime chance to sneak into Club Indigo before anyone noticed that they were both seventeen.

Inside the club, the music was loud, with a heavy bass beat that made everything seem to shake. The club was packed, so in order to find Waller, Reese and Dick would need to split up. Nightwing handed Reese an extra commlink, and she put it in her ear before turning it on.

"Do you hear me?" she asked over the music, and she saw Dick give a nod out of the corner of her eye before the two of them split and Reese headed over to one of the bars, where she sat down on a stool and signaled to the bartender.

"What can I get for you, pretty lady?" the bartender asked, but Reese waved a hand. She and Dick may have snuck into a bar underage, but she wasn't hung up on drinking while they were there.

"I'm fine, thanks," Reese said, and the bartender, who was a man in his mid-twenties, gave a small nod. "I'm actually looking for someone." The bartender tilted his head.

"Ex?" he asked, and Reese gave a small chuckle. 

"No, not even close. A...relative of mine recently contracted a sort of disease, and my boyfriend and I believe a person who could be able to help may be here," this was the first time she had referred to Dick as her boyfriend out loud, and it made a warm feeling spread through Reese's chest.

"What does your mysterious person look like?" the bartender asked, abandoning the towel he had been using to wipe down the bar and leaning on the counter, giving Reese his full attention. Reese went through her thoughts in her head, wondering just how much she could divulge.

"Well, she's pretty well-known, and  _not_ for a good reason," the bartender's eyes narrowed, but before he could say anything, the two were interrupted by another patron sliding onto the stool next to Reese. It was Dick.

"Hey," he said. "You find anything?" Reese glanced at him for a moment before shaking her head.

"No, I haven't seen her yet," she looked back towards the bartender, but he had disappeared. "Dick, what are we going to do if we don't find Waller? We can't wait here forever," Reese felt like there was a lump in her throat, and she knew there were tears brimming in her eyes.

"Rhysalin," Dick whispered, using his thumbs to wipe away Reese's few tears. "We're going to find her. I promise. I won't let anything happen to you,"

"But what if something  _does_?" Reese asked, her voice beginning to crack "What if I were to lose control again? Richard, I wouldn't be able to _live_ with myself if I were to hurt you,"

"Hey!" Dick's voice cut Reese off, and she looked up to see that he had taken off his sunglasses, and his bright blue eyes were staring hard into Reese's own. "I will  _not_ let Waller win. She's got to be around here somewhere..." Dick trailed off, and Reese looked up in time to see Dick's eyes narrow dangerously as he looked at something over Reese's shoulder.

"Bluebird, what is it?" Reese asked as Dick abruptly hopped off of the barstool and started weaving his way through the crowded club, dragging Reese behind him. They stopped by an unmarked door away from the main club, and Reese could hear the only faintest bass beats from the dancefloor. Dick leaned his ear against the door as if listening for something.

"I saw that bartender you were talking to earlier lead Amanda Waller out this back entrance," he said quietly, and Reese's eyes widened. Even though she'd never told the bartender who exactly she and Dick had been looking for, it was now obvious she hadn't needed to.

"You think he was in on it?" Reese asked, and Dick just gave her a look, making Reese hold up her hands in surrender. "Sorry I asked," Reese muttered as she put her hand on the door handle, and slowly turned it, making the door open outward.

Reese stuck her head out, only to duck back inside when a baseball bat, studded with nails, suddenly thudded into the wooden doorjamb, where her head had been moments before. As she stumbled back, Reese backed into Dick's chest, and he steadied her with his hands on her waist as the bartender from earlier, who had been the one to swing the bat, stuck his head inside the doorway, and gave Reese and Dick a grotesque sneer.

"I take it your 'mysterious person' that you were looking for is Amanda Waller?" the bartender asked, and Reese crossed her arms and glared at him.

"What's it to you?" she growled at him, but the bartender's smirk only grew.

"Waller is my employer. She told me once that if anyone were to come looking for her, that I should throw them off her trail,"

"By almost braining someone in the head with a nail-studded baseball bat?" Dick cut in, before coming to stand between Reese and the bartender, the latter only shaking his head in exasperation.

"If that was what it would take to stop someone from following Waller, then so be it," Reese pushed her way in between the two and glared hard at the bartender.

"You know you'll probably get arrested for attempted murder right?" she asked, and the man shook his head.

"You wouldn't let the cops arrest me," he said smugly. "Not when I'm the only one who can take you to Waller," Reese felt Dick tense up behind her, and she tilted her head to look at the bartender with faint interest.

"Where then, pray to tell, _is_ Waller?" Reese asked, and the bartender chuckled.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," he said before he looked Reese dead-in-the-eye. "But I can show you," 

Then, the last thing Reese felt before she fell unconscious was a sharp pain in the back of her head as both she and Dick were hit with tranquilizers simultaneously. As Nightwing and Silver X fell to the floor, out cold, the bartender pulled out a cell phone and pressed something on the screen.

"It's me," he said gruffly, watching the two unconscious superheroes in front of him. "They're down. I'll be bringing them in shortly."

**[Location: REDACTED] [Date: REDACTED] [Time: REDACTED]**

Dick

There was a pounding pain in his head that Dick knew for a fact had not been there before. As his eyes blinked themselves open, Nightwing found himself strapped to a metal chair in the middle of an otherwise empty room.

Dick yanked at the ropes that bound his wrists and ankles to the arms and legs of the chair, but they didn't loosen. Whoever had tied the ropes had obviously known what they were doing. A sudden voice jolted Dick's attention, and he looked towards the small speaker that was in the corner of the room, where two of the walls met the ceiling.

"I would advise you to try not to escape Richard Grayson," a familiar voice echoed through the room, and Dick narrowed his eyes at the camera that was next to the speaker, where he was sure there were multiple people watching and listening in.

"Why'd you bring us here, Waller?" Nightwing asked, and he heard the head of CADMUS give a breathy chuckle.

"Can't I just warrant a simple conversation, Dick?" the woman asked, and now it was Dick's turn to laugh.

"You're not really one to just 'want a conversation',  _Amanda_ ," there was a sudden click before the door to Dick's cell opened up, and Amanda Waller walked in, her blue business suit ironed and straightened, as always. In Waller's hand was a small object, and when Dick realized what it was, he began thrashing in his chair, trying to break the ropes. It was Reese's bluebird necklace, which she had been wearing at Club Indigo.

"You know Grayson," Waller said quietly, walking closer to Dick, and dangling the chain in front of his face. "This is quite an exquisite jewelry piece. It must have been for something special. For  _someone_ special, perhaps?" Dick lurched forward in his chair, making Waller take a step back.

"Where  _is_ she?" Dick growled, and Waller gave a minuscule smirk before standing up straight again.

"In a different part of this top-secret facility, far enough away from you that you won't even see her," Waller threw the small necklace onto Dick's lap before she smirked again and left the room. After a few seconds, Dick let out a shaky breath and maneuvered his hands in a way that allowed him to pick up the small aquamarine bird chain.

He held it up towards the single lightbulb that was in the barren cell and felt hot tears prickle behind his now-closed eyelids.  _Reese_. Where was she? Was she being treated better than he was? Or worse? Dick knew for a fact that Reese had never once taken off the bluebird necklace since he had given it to her at Christmas, so if Waller were to somehow get it  _off_ of her? Well, that didn't mean anything good.

Dick didn't know how long he sat tied to the metal chair, hoping,  _desperately_ , that Reese was okay. That Waller hadn't subjugated her to some sort of torture, physically or mentally. But, there wasn't much Dick could do, except to wait patiently for whatever Waller had in store for him...

Oh, who was he kidding? Nightwing couldn't just sit around and do  _nothing_! Not when the love of his life was being held who knows where possibly being  _tortured_? Luckily, Dick had a small piece of glass in his fist from who knows when, and he started to saw at the ropes. After a couple of minutes, he felt the binds loosen, and the rope that had been around his wrists fell to the floor, and he quickly started on the ropes binding his feet.

As soon as his restraints had given way, a shrill alarm cut through the entire facility, and Dick hopped up off the chair and smashed the camera, destroying it instantly. All of a sudden, about a dozen guards burst into the cell, but Nightwing only smirked.

"Come on guys," he said snidely as they all circled one another. "Did you  _really_ think that those ropes were going to hold me?" One of the guards made the dumb decision to move forward towards Dick, but the acrobat only lashed out with his foot and caught the man, right in the solar plexus. After hitting the back of the guard's head with his elbow, Dick stood up and spread his arms. "Who's next?" he quipped, and the group of guards surged forward, but Dick was faster and more agile than all of them.

While one was distracted, Dick reached into a guard's pocket and pulled out a trio of small smoke bombs. Throwing one of them down, Nightwing smirked as the choking gray smoke filled the room, and as the sound of gunfire ripped through the cell, Dick hit the deck, dropping to the floor as he heard a series of dull thuds that meant the bullets had hit the other guards.

When the smoke had cleared, Dick stood up again to find almost all of the guards that had been in the cell with him were dead, except for one, but Nightwing took care of him quickly...by knocking him out. Ironically, one of the now-dead guards also had a pair of eskrima sticks in a holster on his legs. 

Dick grabbed them and headed out into the hallway of the facility, where he was met with another squadron of guards, this one larger than the last, consisting of around fifteen buff thugs. Taking another of the smoke bombs, Dick knocked all of them out in the span of around thirty seconds. Yes, they may have been beaten a bit brutally than normal, but Dick needed to find Reese, and he needed to find her  _now_.

**\------**

Waller was inside her office, fuming, when Dick broke down the door, only to stop dead when he saw the head of CADMUS holding Reese hostage, a pistol pressed to her temple. Reese's shirt was ripped and spotted with blood, and there was a cut on her forehead that was still bleeding.

"Let her go, Waller," Dick said quietly, watching as Reese's body quivered for a moment before stopping, and an expression of pure agony rippled across her face. She was trying to shift. Reese was trying to shift into one of her animals and it  _wasn't working_. This was worse than they'd thought.

"Why were you looking for me?" Waller hissed, cocking the weapon. Dick quickly held his hands up, if only to placate Waller for a few more seconds.

"We were only trying to figure out Reese's powers," Dick said calmly, meeting Reese's eyes for a split second before he turned back to Waller. "Something's wrong with them. They're-"

"Disappearing?" Waller cut in, and Dick's eyes widened. How did she know? "It's true," she spoke calmly, and abruptly let Reese go. Waller holstered the gun, putting it back into a holster that was around her waist.

Reese scrambled over to where Dick was standing, and Nightwing did a quick, glancing examination of her. The worst injury she seemed to have was the cut on her forehead, the others only being minor scratches.

"You okay?" he whispered, running his hands along her arms, and Reese nodded, making Dick sigh in relief. He turned back towards Waller and narrowed his eyes. "You knew her powers would begin to disappear?" Waller nodded.

"Yes," she said again, and Dick straightened up.

"Explain," Waller frowned and began to head over to a computer that was on the far side of the room.

"Be glad I'm actually telling you what's going on," she hissed but continued after a few seconds of silence. "Anyway, my point is, I never designed the Silver X to be used for long-term. When I first created it, for Vincent Anthony two years ago, he knew the risks. He ended up being killed by a former employee because of it,"

"Kallik used to work for you?" Reese's voice was quiet, but it made both Dick and Waller turn their attention towards her. Waller gave a small nod after a few seconds.

"Yes. She was actually one of the top researchers of the project. When Vincent's powers became unstable, I sent the two of them up to Alaska to see if there was a way to reverse the effects. Then, I found out that Kallik had joined the League of Shadows. I promptly fired her, but she never returned to our Washington D.C branch,"

"Because she stayed in Alaska," Dick cut in. "She was the one who killed Vincent Anthony." Waller's eyes widened, and Dick was surprised that she hadn't heard about it. A few minutes of silence passed before Waller turned around and opened a drawer in the desk behind her.

Waller pulled out a manila envelope with a red-stamped ' **Warning: Confidential** ' bolded across the top. She handed the envelope to Dick, who took it warily. True, Waller had given them a few answers, but she had still kidnapped them, and Dick wasn't hung up on trusting her right now.

"Here," Waller said hesitantly, so unlike her brash demeanor from earlier. "All of the information our research team has compiled on the Silver X project. I hope it helps,"

"Thanks," Dick said quietly. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in the back of his neck, not unlike when he and Reese had been hit with the tranquilizers back at Club Indigo. As everything started to blur in front of his face, Dick grabbed onto the side of a nearby table as his legs collapsed out from under him. From the corner of his eye, Nightwing saw that the same thing was happening with Reese.

"Sorry I had to do this," Waller said, coming to stand in front of Dick's fallen form. "I'll send the file back with you two. Maybe it will shed some light on things. Send Bruce my regards," The last thing Dick saw before he fell unconscious was a bright yellow light as a boom tube opened in front of them.

**Mount Justice; January 12th, 21:50 EST**

Waller hoisted Dick and Reese's limp bodies up, before throwing them through the boom tube, and the two collapsed on the floor of Mount Justice, nine days after they had originally left. The rest of the Team, including Batman and Black Canary, were all standing in the cave when the boom tube appeared, and they all ran forward as soon as the light cleared, revealing Dick and Reese on the floor.

"What happened to them?" Wally cried as he sped forward, stopping next to the two unconscious heroes. "They go back to Gotham after the superhero convention, then drop off the map for a week, then just up and show up at the cave through a  _boom tube_ ,"

"Wally, calm down!" Batman growled, bending down next to his oldest ward's unconscious form. "It's only a tranquilizer," he concluded, standing back up. "a strong one. They should wake up in a few hours. In the meantime, we need to find out what they were doing." he picked up the manila envelope that had fallen on the floor next to Reese, and glanced at the ' **Confidential** ' stamp for a moment before opening the file.

As Bruce read the information inside, everyone else watched with bated breath as Batman's cowl lenses narrowed until they were little more than white slits.

"Batman, what is it?" Black Canary asked, and Bruce looked up from the file he was reading. How could Dick and Reese do this on their own? Actually thinking that it would be a good idea to investigate CADMUS by themselves?

"Take them to the infirmary," he told the Team, before turning back to Black Canary after the rest of them had left the main cave.

"Bruce, what were Dick and Reese doing?" Dinah repeated, and Bruce sighed.

"Reese's powers," he started. "Lately, they've been on the fritz. And it seems like Nightwing and Silver X went to Washington D.C to get some answers," Dinah's eyes widened as she comprehended Bruce's words.

"Bruce, you don't mean..." she trailed off and sucked in a breath when Batman nodded.

"Until further notice, the League will be keeping close tabs on Amanda Waller. She will  _not_ win this. Reese will still go undercover in three days, and with Nightwing shadowing her movements, I'm sure Dick won't let anything happen to Reese," Black Canary gave a grim nod.

"If you're sure. How are Celeste and Diana doing?" after the abrupt subject change, Bruce gave a small chuckle.

"When I last checked in, they were both doing fine. Diana has given Celeste a new identity, and they are both safe. For now, at least." Dinah nodded again, and Bruce turned back towards the holo-computer, where he had just uploaded the Silver X data from the file Dick and Reese had brought home.

"We're not going to let Waller get away with this, Bruce," Dinah said quietly, and Bruce nodded in agreement, his face set with determination. The Justice League had had run-ins with Amanda Waller in the past, of course, but this time, she had crossed a line. She'd come after the Team. After  _Dick_. And no one did that on Batman's watch.

"I know we aren't, Dinah," Bruce said firmly, before turning back to Black Canary. "Signal the Watchtower. Tell the League about what happened to Nightwing and Reese. Tell all of them to be on the lookout for Amanda Waller. This time, we're going to war."


	9. Chapter 8...Grayson vs. Sporelli

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Celeste and Diana arrive at the cave after being attacked by a pair of rogue Shadows looking for Reese, Dick shows Reese the pictures that Kallik sent Nightwing at Christmas. Then, Dick and Guiliano Sporelli meet face-to-face at the Fundraiser, and Nightwing has to find a way to protect Reese and her cover when the Fundraiser is attacked by the two Shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it took me so long to get this chapter up, but the 14th through the 18th was Finals week at my high school and considering I am but a lowly Freshman, I was sorely unprepared and am now emotionally DEAD. Anyway, enjoy this chapter.

**Mount Justice; January 13th, 11:20 EST**

Dick

Nightwing's eyes flew open and he sat up with a gasp, only to find himself at the infirmary in Mount Justice, dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a loose sweatshirt, that obviously belonged to Wally, considering they had a Flash symbol on the side. Dick turned his head to see that Reese was laying in the bed opposite him, her eyes closed as her chest rose and fell slowly, the heart monitor next to her bed counting every beat.

Dick rubbed a hand over his face as he remembered everything that had happened from when he and Reese had found out about her powers in the Batcave, to battling Amanda Waller and CADMUS in Annapolis. How long, exactly, had Nightwing and Reese been gone? To Dick it seemed like twelve hours at most, but, knowing Project CADMUS and their "research experiments", he and Reese could very well have been gone for  _weeks_ on end.

Glancing back at Reese's sleeping form one more time, Dick slipped out of the infirmary into the room he used whenever Nightwing needed to stay overnight at Mount Justice. Grabbing a t-shirt and black jeans from one of his drawers, Dick slipped the clothes on before heading back into the infirmary to check on Reese, only to run into Aqualad on his way inside. Kaldur was standing by the side of Reese's bed, looking down on the girl with a soft smile.

Dick couldn't help the sudden surge of jealousy that erupted in his gut and stalked forward until he was standing just over Kaldur's shoulder. When Aqualad didn't react for a few minutes, Nightwing cleared his throat, making the Atlantean jump in surprise.

"Oh, Nightwing," Kaldur said, glancing at Dick over his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you," Dick rolled his eyes.

"Clearly," he grumbled, before staring Aqualad dead-in-the-eye. "What are you doing in here?" Kaldur sighed and stepped back a few feet to give Reese some space, and Dick quickly moved to take his place.

"I just came here to check to see if you two were alright. You were gone for nine days, after all," Dick, who had been about to grab Reese's limp fingers, froze in his tracks and turned slowly around to face Kaldur.

"What are you talking about?" he asked quietly, thoughts running through his head at light-speed. Nine days. He and Reese had been  _gone_ for  _nine days_? How long had they been stuck at CADMUS?

"Dick, when you and Reese went back to Gotham after the superhero convention with Wally and Artemis, no one saw or heard from you until a boom tube opened up in the cave yesterday, and both of you fell through," Dick reached forward and grabbed the collar of Kaldur's jacket, jerking him forward.

"You're lying," he growled. "Tell me you're lying," Kaldur shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Nightwing, but it's the truth. Batman was about to send the League out to find you, but you returned before he was able to make the call," Dick let go of Kaldur's collar and stepped back. Before he could say anything though, movement caught Dick's attention, and he turned to see that Reese was waking up. Nightwing glanced over his shoulder, only to see Aqualad slip out of the infirmary just as Reese blinked her eyes open.

"Was that Kaldur?" she asked, and Dick looked back towards her.

"Yeah," he said simply. "He just wanted to see if we were alright. Apparently, we were gone for more than a week," Reese tried to st up, but she was still a bit weak, and Dick quickly steadied her with his hand pressed to her back.

"We were gone for a  _week_?" Reese's voice was quiet, almost a whisper, and it made Nightwing meet her eyes. For a split second, Dick could've sworn he saw a flash of silver in Reese's dark brown pools, but it was gone just as quickly as it had been there, only to be replaced by an expression of pure pain.

"Reese, are you okay?" Dick asked quietly, and the girl in front of him nodded wearily, placing a hand against the side of her head.

"Yeah, Bluebird, I'm fine," she whispered. "I'm just trying to wake myself up more," Dick's eyes widened as he realized what Reese had done. He reached forward and clamped both his hands on Reese's shoulders, yanking her towards him.

"By trying to  _shift_? Rhysalin, you know what that does to you!" Dick instantly regretted his words as Reese recoiled from him, and glanced down at the hospital bed, avoiding Dick's gaze. Nightwing reached and cupped Reese's pale cheek with one hand, and tilted her face towards his. 

"Hey," he whispered, pressing his forehead against Reese's. "Argent, I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just don't want you to get hurt." Reese gave a shaky nod in agreement before she pressed her lips to Dick's in a soft kiss. After they separated, Dick pressed his lips to Reese's forehead before helping her up, not entirely sure if Reese's legs would hold her weight. Luckily, it seemed they would.

"What do we do now?" Reese asked as they walked out of the infirmary and down the hall to Reese's quarters. Dick glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"Find Bruce, I guess," he said as Reese walked inside her bathroom to change, and Dick waited outside leaning against Reese's bedroom wall. "He should know something,"

"You think Waller let us go to send a message?" Reese's voice came from behind the closed bathroom door, and Dick glanced at it.

"Probably," he answered after a few seconds of thought. "Waller knows Bruce's secret identity and coming after the two of us,  _two_ of the four other heroes working closely with Batman in Gotham, she probably wanted to tell Bruce that she can get to him."

"You think it worked?" Dick shrugged his shoulders in response, even though Reese couldn't see him.

"It might've. Before you woke up, Kaldur was in the infirmary, and he said something about Bruce being really close to sending the League out to find us, but we came back through a boom tube before he was able to make the call," the bathroom door slid open and Reese stepped out, dressed in a pair of black jeans and a light gray sweater, her hair hanging over her shoulder in a thick French braid. 

"You think Bruce is going to do anything about it?" she asked, and Nightwing shrugged again.

"Who knows?" he said, before pushing back from the wall and taking a few steps forward and stopping in front of Reese. "We should probably find him though. See what he found from that file Waller undoubtedly sent back with us," the two of them headed out of Reese's room and into the main cave, only to stop dead when they noticed the two figures standing by the holo-computers with Batman.

One was Wonder Woman, her golden diadem sparkling in the cave's lighting. The other, Dick could've sworn he'd seen her before, but he couldn't place it. With shoulder-length platinum blonde hair and bright green eyes, Nightwing felt like the answer was at the forefront of his mind, but he couldn't reach it. He heard Reese suck in a startled breath from beside him, and when Dick looked between the two, his eyes widened. They looked  _identical._  Almost as if they were sisters. More likely though...

" _Celeste_?" Reese's voice jerked Dick from his thoughts, and Nightwing looked up in time to see Reese's eyes flash silver for a moment until they turned back to brown before Reese was swaying on her feet, and Dick rushed forward to catch her just as the girl's legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor.

"You okay?" Nightwing whispered softly, and Reese gave a weary nod as Dick helped her stand again, before he turned back to Celeste and Diana, this time making sure his hand was pressed securely against the small of Reese's back. After a few seconds, Dick turned to the others in front of him and raised an eyebrow. 

"What are you two doing here?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be back in D.C?" Wonder Woman's jaw suddenly clenched, and as Celeste suddenly stepped back from Reese, Dick began to get a sinking feeling in his stomach. To his absolute shock, Celeste was the one who spoke first. And in English, no less. Diana must have been teaching her.

"The safehouse was..." she trailed off and looked towards Diana, who gave the girl a small nod. Celeste took a deep, shaky breath before continuing. "compromised. Masked men...we do not know who, broke in last night and they almost overpowered-" she broke off, and Dick wasn't surprised to see the tears glistening in Celeste's now-green eyes. Diana gave her ward a small, sad smile before she continued with what Celeste had been saying.

"The weapons these men had," she started. "They were different than anything I've ever seen before. It was like they were  _made_ for meta-humans. It was almost too much for me to defeat them." Dick didn't miss the minuscule concerned glance that Bruce sent Diana, and he quietly smirked to himself. Who would've thought that the Dark Knight from Gotham would fall for a warrior from an island that had no men?

"You two are okay though, aren't you?" Nightwing asked finally, and Celeste and Wonder Woman each gave him a confirming nod. Dick noticed that Celeste had been staring at him for the past couple of minutes, and he was beginning to wonder why. He turned and met her eyes, and raised an eyebrow. Celeste's eyes widened, and she quickly backtracked.

"I'm sorry," she quickly stuttered out. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. It's just..." she trailed off, and Dick suddenly realized something.

"I remind you of him, don't I?" he asked, and Celeste nodded sadly.

"Yes, though I must say, you're much more companionable," Dick didn't know if Celeste was flirting with him or not, but the feeling of five slender fingers wrapping around his reminded him that it didn't really matter.

"Are you _jealous_ , Rhysalin?" Nightwing whispered into Reese's ear when Celeste had turned back around to say something to Bruce. But, Reese only scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Hmph, you wish, Bluebird," she hissed back, but Dick could see that he had gotten her flustered, and silently smirked to himself, but his grin fell off his face when he saw the mug shots on the holo-computer of the men who had attacked Celeste and Diana. He remembered them. From Nanda Parbat. They worked for the League of Shadows.

Dick let go of Reese's hand and walked over to the holo-computer, staring stricken at the two pictures in front of him. The two men had been a couple of the guards at Nanda Parbat that had attacked Reese and Dick after they had escaped. Dick remembered their faces.

"Nightwing," Bruce's voice jerked Dick from his thoughts, and he turned to see everyone looking at him with varying degrees of concern on their faces, though Reese had more of a fearful gaze, and Dick was beginning to realize that she had recognized the two as well. Bruce stepped forward and looked at Dick with the smallest frown on his face. "Do you recognize these two?" Dick glanced at Reese over his shoulder once, before he turned back to Bruce and gave a single nod. Before he could say anything though, Reese's voice interrupted them.

"This is all my fault," she whispered, and everyone turned to look. Dick's blood ran cold when he saw the absolutely defeated look on Reese's face. Celeste turned to her.

"What do you mean?" the girl asked. "Reese, you were not there, how could it have been your fault?" Reese took a deep breath, and Nightwing wrapped one arm around her waist and tugged her closer to his side. This whole ordeal was beginning to stress him out.

"Those men?" she asked, gesturing towards the holo-computer. "They were looking for me, and I think that because you and I look so much alike, the two Shadows thought that you were me and because Diana was with you, that the Justice League had put me under some kind of protection," she glanced at Celeste once before continuing, emotional pain prominent in her dark brown eyes. "They were looking for  _me_ ," Something had been bugging Dick for the past couple of weeks, and he needed to get it out of his head.

"Argent, I need to show you something," he gently grabbed Reese's arm and dragged her down the hallway towards his room, as Diana, Bruce, and Celeste tried to dig up more information about the two Shadows. As soon as his door had slid shut, Nightwing pushed Reese down onto the bed, and he turned and opened a drawer in the nightstand.

Dick pulled out the box that contained the pictures he had gotten from Kallik at Christmas, and put it in Reese's now-shaking hands. Nightwing ran his fingers through his hair and began to pace as he watched Reese flip through the pictures. After Dick had gotten the pictures of Reese, what he  _should've_ done was tell _Reese_. What Dick  _should've_ done was not keep this from her. What he  _should've_ done was go after Kallik himself and demand to know why the League of Shadows was going after them.

But he hadn't. What Dick  _had_ done was keep a secret from the girl he loved, after she had almost  _died_ by the hand of the same woman who had sent Nightwing the pictures. There was the sudden sound of paper flying around, and Dick turned to see that Reese had thrown the pile of pictures onto the floor, and was now glaring with an almost-murderous look in her eyes.

"What are these?" her voice was quiet, cold, and it made Dick shiver, and  _not_ in the way he enjoyed. He didn't trust himself to answer, but when he didn't Reese shot up and stalked forward until she was face-to-face with him.

Dick realized something. He may be five inches _taller_ than Reese, but right now, when his girlfriend was looking like she about to snap some necks, Dick felt like he was  _only_  five inches tall. He avoided Reese's gaze and took a deep breath before he spoke.

"I got them at Christmas," he said solemnly and winced inwardly as Reese sucked in a sharp breath. "Right after Jason called me about Luke, when we were at the holiday festival. A woman, I think it was Kallik in disguise, gave me,  _Nightwing_ , a package..." Dick trailed off, but Reese seemed to catch the gist.

"The pictures were inside?" her voice was softer now, and Dick looked at her when Reese cupped his cheek with her hand and tilted his face towards her. Dick wished now that he had told Reese about the photos much,  _much_ sooner, so he wouldn't have to see how stricken she was right now.

"Yeah," Dick whispered, running his fingers along Reese's braid. "Along with a letter. It said that Kallik would be coming for you, and I couldn't-Rhysalin, I am  _so_ sorry I didn't tell you. There was just so much going on, with Luke's death, New Year's, CADMUS, I just-" he was abruptly cut off as Reese's mouth covered his, and Dick tightened his grip on Reese as he kissed her, calm enveloping his system. When they separated several seconds later after Dick realized he needed this little thing called oxygen, Nightwing let out a short, breathless laugh and he leaned forward again until his and Reese's nose were angled together.

"I am _so_ glad you aren't mad at me," Dick whispered, and in the dim lighting of his room, he saw Reese give a small smile.

"I understand why you didn't tell me," she said quietly, and Dick leaned back to gaze at her.

"You do?" he asked, and the girl in front of him nodded.

"I do. You didn't want me to worry about the fact that the woman who killed me a year ago is currently hunting me down, and trying to kill me again. You wanted to protect me," Dick gave a small nod in agreement. Sometimes Nightwing thought Reese knew him better than he did himself.

"I still don't want you to go undercover," Dick whispered a few minutes later, and Reese giggled in response. Leaning forward, Reese lightly bumped her forehead against Dick's, and Nightwing gave a small smile.

"I know you don't, Bluebird," Reese whispered quietly. "But we need to figure out what the Sporellis and Riccis are planning, and how it ties into that deal Leo was talking about back in Rome," Dick sighed because he knew she had a point. He still wasn't entirely okay with the fact that "Celeste" had to be betrothed to Guiliano Sporelli though. When he said as much, Reese pressed her lips to Dick's in a soft kiss for a split second before she leaned back.

"You don't need to be worried about Sporelli, Dick," Reese said, a smirk curving her lips. "Not when I'll have  _Nightwing_ following me around," Dick smirked himself before there was a knock on the door and both Reese and Dick's heads whipped towards the entrance to his room, where Artemis's voice was filtering through.

"Dick, Reese? You guys in there?" Dick quickly put the box that held the photos back into the nightstand drawer, then walked over to the door and hit the button that opened it, only to reveal Wally and Artemis standing on the other side, the latter with a small smile.

"What's up?" Reese asked, coming to stand at Dick's shoulder, and Wally hooked a thumb to point down the hallway, back towards the main cave.

"Wonder Woman and Celeste just left, and Batman wants us all to get ready for the fundraiser. Apparently, there was also a last-minute venue change, and it is now at the same hotel 'Celeste' is staying in," Dick glanced at Reese from the corner of his eye before turning back to Wally.

"Damn. How'd Bruce manage that?" Wally shrugged.

"Beats me. All I heard was that he needs Artemis and Reese to pick out their dresses," Dick knew for a fact that Artemis only wore a dress if she absolutely had to, and it seemed like the Fundraiser was a prime example. Nightwing turned back to Reese and stared into her eyes.

"Be careful," he said. Dick didn't want to risk Artemis and Reese running into the two rogue Shadows. Reese gave him a brief nod and a peck on the cheek before she was dragging Artemis down the hallway to where the Zeta tubes were located.

**Recognized Artemis B07, Silver X B10**

When they had disappeared into the golden light that always appeared whenever someone used the Zeta tube, Dick sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face. He knew that Reese's mission into the Sporellis was important, but that didn't mean he had to _like_ it.

"You sure she's going to be okay?" Wally's voice interrupted Dick's thoughts, and he turned to see his ginger-haired friend gazing at him with a concerned look on his face. Nightwing shrugged.

"Truthfully, Wally?" he asked. "I'm not sure. It's bad enough that the League of Shadows is hunting Reese down. But, with everything that happened with CADMUS, and Reese's powers-" Wally suddenly cut Dick off and held up a hand.

"Whoa, hold on," he said, before glancing at Dick again. "What's wrong with Reese's powers?" Dick's eyes widened as he realized he had never gotten the chance to tell Wally or for that matter  _anybody_ , that Reese's powers were disappearing. Because right after they had discovered it, Nightwing and Silver X had gone to CADMUS to speak with Amanda Waller. And everyone knew how  _that_ had turned out.

"Uh, nothing," Dick quickly tried to cover up his slip-up, because he wasn't entirely sure if Reese  _wanted_ him to tell people. "They've just been on the fritz lately, nothing to worry about." Wally still looked skeptical, and Dick desperately hoped that Kid Flash wouldn't press for too much more information. Fortunately, Wally relented, then abruptly changed the subject.

"So," KF grinned, rubbing his hands together. "What do you have in terms of black-tie apparel?" Dick smirked and gestured to himself.

"Dude, have you  _met_ me?" Wally laughed, then slung an arm over Dick's shoulder and lead Nightwing over to the Zeta tube.

"Come on, Dickie-bird," he said. "We have a party to get ready for," As he typed in the coordinates for the Batcave, Dick glanced over his shoulder at his best friend.

"Technically it's a fundraiser, not a part-" he was quickly shushed by Wally as they stepped inside.

**Recognized Nightwing B01, Kid Flash B03**

"Don't ruin the moment Dick."

**Sporelli Estate, Gotham City; January 15th, 16:40 EST**

Reese

"Are you ready, Celeste?" It was two days later, and Reese looked up to meet the eyes of Matches Malone, Bruce Wayne's  _other_ secret identity, for when he needed to go into the criminal underworld. With the plaid suit, tinted sunglasses, and fake mustache, Reese would've sworn, if she hadn't known that Malone was Bruce, she'd think he was  _actually_ a mafia criminal. The Jersey accent helped too. Reese gave a small nod, before Alfred, also in disguise, rolled the unmarked car to a stop at the foot of the Sporelli's massive front stairs.

Reese knew that Alessandro Sporelli had made quite a bit of money when he was a wrestler, but she didn't know to what extent. The Sporelli estate sat on the very edges of Gotham City in the center of almost two hundred acres of pristine greenery. Add in the massive mansion, complete with shiny marble stairs and an entire staff of almost one-hundred-and-fifty people, to say the Sporellis were loaded would be a gross understatement.

As she stepped out of the car, Reese caught a flash of black and blue from the corner of her eye, on the very far side of the estate, closer to the street, and silently smirked to herself. Dick was already watching out for her, and the mission hadn't even officially started yet. Just as Alfred was about to shut the door, Bruce wrapped his hand around Reese's wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

"Wait," he said quietly, and Reese turned to look at him. "The Sporellis don't know that the real Celeste is able to speak English now. I would prefer to keep it that way," Reese gave a small nod.

"Vuoi dire che dovrei parlare Loro Italiano in ogni momento?" she asked, smirking.  _You mean I should speak Italian to them at all times?_ Bruce smirked himself and nodded. With that, Reese let Alfred shut the car door, and she walked up to the front steps and knocked lightly on the door.

After a couple seconds, the heavy oak door was pulled open, and it revealed the absolutely  _last_ person both Reese  _and_ Dick wanted to see. Guiliano Sporelli. The profile at Wayne Manor had been an understatement. He looked worse in real life than he did in a mug shot.

He was wearing a stained Armani dress shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, obviously trying to show off muscles that  _weren't_ there, along with a pair of black slacks. Reese could practically hear Nightwing's teeth grinding together.

"Celeste!" Guiliano Sporelli cried, leaning forward. It took Reese a split second to realize he was going to try and kiss her, and another to quickly hold up a hand in front of her face, so Guiliano's  _disgusting_ mouth landed on her palm instead of her lips.

"Spiacente," she said quickly.  _Sorry_. "Non apprezzo le tue anticipazioni,"  _I don't appreciate your advances_. To her dismay though, Sporelli's self-indulgent smirk only grew wider, and he leaned back but was still much too far into Reese's personal space to be considered polite.

"Ah," he practically cooed, making Reese cringe and Nightwing's temper come that much closer to exploding. "Playing hard-to-get, I see. Don't worry, pretty bird, you'll fall in love with me eventually." A sudden voice from a nearby magnolia tree made Reese freeze.

"I hope not," Dick's voice was practically a growl, so it was low enough that Sporelli wasn't able to hear. But Reese had. How had that happened exactly? Before she could think too much on it, Alfred honked the car horn, and Reese breathed a mental sigh of relief.

"What is that for?" Sporelli asked, and Reese glanced at him for a moment.

"Sono Venuto qui solo Oggi per salutare,"  _I only came here today to say hello_ , she said, and Guiliano's face fell. "ma ci vedremo stasera alla Fundraiser, si?"  _But I will see you tonight at the Fundraiser, yeah?_ Sporelli gave a disturbingly wide grin and nodded excitedly before pulling Reese into an exuberant hug.

Reese tried to wiggle her way out of it, but Sporelli just held her tighter, before the car horn was honked again, though Reese could see that Sporelli was heavily reluctant to let her go, and Dick's territorial growl was practically audible. To Sporelli's ears anyway. The way Dick was getting so protective and pissed off? Well, Reese thought it was kind of...hot, to be completely honest.

When Alfred opened the car door, and Reese slid inside, she opened her mouth to speak, but Bruce quickly held up a finger, silently shushing her as Alfred drove away down the street. He reached behind Reese's shoulder and plucked something off of her navy blazer. Reese's eyes widened when she realized what it was. She plucked the small listening device from Bruce's fingers when Alfred slowly slid to a stop and got out of the car.

Before she could do anything, the device was plucked out of her fingers again as Dick, now in civvies, slid into the backseat next to Reese. Nightwing gave her a look that plainly said, 'allow me.' Reese waved a dismissive hand, and Dick crushed the small device in his fist, before opening the window and letting the now crushed pieces blow outside and onto the street, where another car promptly ran over them.

"Well," Dick began once they were sure they weren't being listened to. "I still hate this whole thing." Reese gave her boyfriend a small smile before she leaned over and pressed her lips to the corner of Dick's mouth.

"Calm down, Bluebird," she said. "You don't have to worry about me falling in love with Guy Sporelli anytime soon," Dick just gave her a look.

"I don't want to have to worry about it happening _at_ _all_ ," Reese gave a small chuckle.

"And you won't need to, Dick," she said. "Just because Celeste's identity is supposed to be betrothed to Guiliano Sporelli, doesn't mean I actually have to  _like_ him." Dick still seemed a bit peeved, but Alfred pulled up to the Gotham Plaza Hotel before he could say anything more. When Alfred opened the car door before she stepped out, Reese turned around and placed her lips to Dick's for a split second, before she leaned back again and gave Nightwing a small smile.

"I'll see you guys tonight?" she asked, and Bruce gave a small nod.

"The Fundraiser starts at eight. It will be in the main ballroom of the hotel, and the Team should be mingling around." Reese gave a small nod before stepping out of the car, and Alfred grabbed the suitcase she had packed for the mission, though none of them knew just how long it would be.

"Master Bruce has paid for this room for another six months," Alfred hissed out of the corner of his mouth as they walked through the revolving doors. "Under an alias of course, but you should not worry about the money," Reese nodded again before they reached the front desk.

"Thanks, Alfred," she whispered as they stood behind a pair of men who looked like they were here for a business trip. "I hope this whole ordeal is over soon," she whispered, and Alfred gave a small nod in agreement.

"As do I, Miss Reese. Though not as much as Master Dick does, I'm sure," Reese gave a little laugh, and Alfred continued. "I don't think I have ever seen him as happy as I have when he is with you." Reese felt her cheeks flush, but before she could say anything the two men in front of them checked in and moved out of the way.

"Checking in?" the receptionist asked, and Alfred nodded. As he did the necessary tasks, Reese took a deep breath. Once she had checked in, there was no going back. She would have to  _become_ Celeste Ricci. Pretend to be betrothed to Guiliano Sporelli. And  _that_ was something she was  _not_ under any circumstances, looking forward to.

**Gotham Plaza Hotel, Room 1201; January 15th, 19:50 EST**

It was ten minutes before the Fundraiser was due to start, and the fact that Reese was currently making out with Nightwing on the couch of her hotel room, showed just how good her time-management skills were.

"Dick," Reese whispered as her boyfriend feathered kisses along her throat. "The Fundraiser starts in ten minutes. We should probably get ready," Dick stilled, then tilted his head so he was looking down at Reese. He had taken off his domino mask when he'd come in through Reese's window, so his cerulean eyes were on full display.

"Do we  _really_ have to go?" he asked, the corner of his lip twitching up into a smirk. "I'd much rather just stay here with you," Reese just leveled him with a look.

"So would I," she said truthfully, "But this is one of the only times all of the Sporellis will be in one place, and a prime opportunity to get critical information," Dick scowled.

"Screw information," he grumbled, but Reese just gave him another look, and Dick eventually groaned. " _Fine_ , but know that if Sporelli tries to do absolutely  _anything_ to you that is even the smallest smidgen below politeness, Conner will have to hold me back from turning him into a punching bag." Reese smiled and pecked Dick on the nose.

"My hero," she whispered, but just as she was about to kiss him again, someone pounded on the hotel room door, before there was the sound it made whenever someone used a keycard and both of their head's whipped towards the door before Reese practically threw Nightwing onto the floor, then popped her head over the top of the couch, only to be met with the tuxedoed-figure of Guiliano Sporelli, who was currently walking towards her, as if he was on a mission.

A mission, Reese suddenly realized that would end up with Nightwing sending him straight into the morgue.

"Che Diavolo credi che stai facendo qui?" she cried.  _What the bloody hell do you think you're doing here?_ Sporelli only chuckled, and Reese had to shift her left foot so it was placed directly over Dick's sternum, stopping him from moving. Reese knew for a fact that Nightwing could have  _easily_ gotten free, but for now, he stayed still.

"Can't I just come and visit my fiancée?" Reese pressed her foot down with a bit more pressure but was only met with empty air. She jerked around and saw with a barely contained gasp that Nightwing was gone, along with his domino mask. "Celeste, are you okay?" Reese turned around again to face Sporelli, only to see Nightwing's muscular figure leaning against the wall behind him, mask lenses narrowed dangerously, and arms crossed across his chest.

"Che cosa? Oh, sì, sto bene,"  _What? Oh, yes I'm fine._ she said breathlessly, her eyes flicking over to meet Dick's for a moment, before jerking back to Sporelli's. " Ora, puoi andartene per favore?"  _Now, can you please leave?_ For a second, Reese could've sworn she'd seen anger flicker in Sporelli's eyes, but just as quickly as she'd seen it, it was gone, and in its place was a sultry smirk.

"Of course, pretty bird," he said, almost whispering, leaning closer. "Though I wish I could have you to myself a little bit longer. Oh, the things I could-" there was a loud thump as Sporelli's now-unconscious body fell to the floor, and Dick stood up straight from where he had the back of Sporelli's head with one of his eskrima sticks.

"Dick!" Reese cried, and Nightwing shrugged.

"What?" he asked. "I didn't  _kill_ him. He'll be out for about a half-hour, then have a major headache. No big deal," Reese didn't feel bad, but seriously? Wasn't that a tad bit extreme? Glancing at the clock that was on the wall of her hotel room, Reese saw that the Fundraiser had now been going on for almost fifteen minutes.

"Come on," Reese said. "We're late." Dick sighed again and grabbed the duffel bag that held his suit.

"Fine," he said. Reese rolled her eyes before her gaze landed on Sporelli's unconscious form.

"Wait," she said as Dick pulled out a red necktie. Nightwing froze, and Reese gestured to the limp Italian at their feet.

"What are we going to do with him?"

Dick 

Nightwing, now Dick Grayson dressed in a black suit jacket, white dress shirt, black pants, and red tie, leaned against the wall of the ballroom with Wally and Artemis, smirking smugly as he watched the unconscious Guiliano Sporelli slump in an armchair on the far side of the room. His mouth was hanging open, and needless to say, Sporelli's image was  _greatly_ improved.

"What'd you do to him?" Wally asked, and Dick shrugged.

"He tried to make a move on Reese, and I knocked him out," Artemis, who had by now dressed in a hunter green halter-dress with yellow accents, glanced at Dick from the corner of her eye.

"You were up in Reese's room?" Dick shook his head before he smirked again at the archer.

"Dick Grayson wasn't," he said. "but Nightwing was."

"Did you see her dress?" Artemis asked, and Dick shook his head.

"No, she kicked me out before I was able to see it," this time it was Artemis's turn to smirk at Nightwing, but Dick only narrowed his eyes.

"Good," she quipped. "Reese said she wanted it to be a surprise," Dick crossed his arms. He'd seen Reese in party clothes before multiple times, why was this any different? Movement from the corner of his eye caught Dick's attention, and he turned in time to see that Sporelli was waking up. Dick felt his blood begin to boil and silently clenched his fists. Leaving Artemis and Wally, Nightwing weaved through the packed ballroom, that was filled to the brim with Gotham's finest.

Sporelli's eyes blinked open just as Dick perched on the arm of the chair just across from him, putting on the metaphorical mask of the stereotypical rich-kid. When Sporelli noticed him, the mafia son's eyes widened for a millisecond before a smirk replaced the shock on his face.

"Grayson," Sporelli said by way of greeting. "Fancy meeting you here." Dick shrugged, trying not to lose his temper.

"Not really. Have a nice nap?" Dick inwardly relished in the way Sporelli's eyes widened, and he looked around frantically, then realized where he was before a scowl made its way onto his face.

" _You_ were the one who knocked me unconscious?" Dick raised an eyebrow.

"Unconscious?" he echoed, feigning ignorance. "Why would I knock you unconscious? As far as  _I_ , and everyone else at this fundraiser, knows, you've been sleeping, in that chair, for the past twenty-five minutes. But, I'm sure whoever 'knocked you unconscious' had a very good reason." Sporelli's scowl only grew, but at the same time did Dick's smirk. This guy was even stupider than he originally thought. But, that wasn't saying very much.

"Yo, Dick!" a voice cried, and Nightwing turned to see Wally and Artemis making their way towards him. Wally glanced at Sporelli for a minute, and his face hardened before he turned back to Dick. "Have you  _tasted_ the appetizers at this thing?" he asked, and Dick rolled his eyes teasingly.

"Only you, Wally," he chuckled. "Only you," Sporelli's voice interrupted Dick and Wally's conversation and considering he did it to flirt with Artemis, Dick wouldn't have held Wally back if the speedster were to throw himself at him.

"And who are  _you_?" Dick heard a barely-contained growl erupt in the back of Wally's throat, and to be honest, Dick was feeling a bit pissed-off himself. Before either hero could do something, Artemis had grasped Sporelli's wrist and twisted it behind his back, earning a satisfying squeak of pain from the boy.

"First of all," Artemis said. "I have a boyfriend, and second?" she twisted his wrist tighter, and Dick began to hear a faint cracking sound. "If I didn't, he wouldn't be like you," she abruptly let go, and Sporelli skittered away in fright, coming to hide behind Dick, who promptly stepped out of the way.

"Don't you have a girlfriend?" Wally asked Sporelli, and Dick shot him a glare, while also elbowing him in the ribs. Sporelli's mouth grew into a wide grin, and the fact that he was basically a younger, carbon copy of his father made Dick flashback to Rome when Reese had almost drowned because Alessandro Sporelli had dragged her underwater.

"Oh yeah!" Sporelli cried out. "I forgot!"

"You  _forgot_?" Dick growled, but it was too low and quiet for the Italian to hear. Guiliano was too wrapped up in his words of "Celeste" to notice.

"Actually," Sporelli began. "She's my fiancée. We're supposed to get married at Christmas. Ah, just picture it. Snow covering the ground, and tons and tons of mistletoe all over the place. She won't be able to escape me." Dick was picturing something all right, it just wasn't a Christmas wedding between Reese and Sporelli. To be honest, it was closer to Nightwing coming after Sporelli when he was sleeping and then dropping him off in Arkham to see how the Joker would like him, but oh well.

"Hang on," Wally cut in, stopping Sporelli's rant, and interrupting Dick's daydream. "Isn't your 'fiancée', like, three years younger than you?" Sporelli nodded, and Artemis spoke next.

"If her birthday isn't until at  _least_ March, that wedding would be illegal." Sporelli only shrugged his shoulders, and Wally's arm flashed out at super-speed, blocking Dick, a split-second before he would've thrown himself at Guiliano.

"Pssh," the mafia son said dismissively. "Merely a technicality. Child marriages are quite common in multiple cultures." Dick crossed his arms and scowled.

"Not in Italian culture they're not," he growled, but once again, Sporelli didn't hear. His eyes had landed on something over Wally's shoulder, and his mouth was hanging slightly open. Dick turned around to see what was so interesting, only to feel his mouth run dry.

It was Reese. She was dressed to the absolute  _elevens_ , in a long-sleeved dress with a Queen Anne neckline. The bodice was a red that, ironically but not surprisingly, matched Dick's tie, and the waistline was black lace, that turned into a form-fitting black skirt that ended just below Reese's knees. Her shoes were a pair of strappy, red gladiator sandals with a three-inch heel, and to say she was beautiful would be a gross understatement. Her brown hair was curled into an elegant braided up-do, with two strands framing her face.

Dick felt a small amount of smugness when he saw the bluebird necklace hanging around Reese's neck, the aquamarine stones contrasting nicely with the red and black of the rest of her ensemble.

"Where have you been?" Sporelli asked as Reese walked up to the group. The girl only shrugged in response and raised a single arched eyebrow.

"Prepararsi," she said, and Dick mentally translated the word.  _Getting ready._ He was suddenly  _so_ super grateful that Bruce had made him take those linguistics classes when he first came to the manor all those years ago. Reese met Dick's eyes for a moment, and Nightwing gave a small smile before Reese turned back to Sporelli. The man, if he could really be called that, reached out and took the small bluebird charm in his slimy fingers and fingered it, and Dick's smile abruptly dropped.

"Where'd you get this?" Sporelli sneered, and behind his back, Wally clamped both of his hands on Dick's shoulders to hold Nightwing back. Reese looked unsure for a moment before she took a deep breath and stared Sporelli dead-in-the-eye.

"Qualcuno di speciale me l'ha dato,"  _Someone special gave it to me_. For another split-second, Dick met Reese's eyes over Wally and Sporelli's shoulders, and Dick desperately wished that the two of them were someplace,  _anyplace_ , other than this stupid fundraiser. Like he had said earlier when he'd been in Reese's hotel room...Screw information. All he wanted to do right now was spend some quality time with his girlfriend, preferably with added kisses.

For a moment, Dick thought that Sporelli would rip the necklace off of Reese's neck, but he just let go and scoffed derisively.

"Please, as if anyone would _ever_ love a slut like you," This time, Wally wasn't able to hold Dick back. Nightwing flew out of his grip and slammed Sporelli into the wall, hands gripped tightly around the lapels of Guiliano's suit jacket. Luckily, the five of them were in a deserted sitting room, so no one else was around.

" _Take. That. Back_ ," Dick growled, and he found it oddly satisfying how scared Sporelli seemed to be of him. "Take it back!" In the back of his mind, Dick heard Wally and Artemis yelling at him to let go, but he ignored them, only focusing on that idiotic self-satisfied smirk on Sporelli's face.

"A little tense, aren't we Grayson?" he asked, then tilted his head. "Is it just out of common courtesy? Or the fact that you and,  _Celeste_ here may have a...connection?" Dick froze. Maybe it was the way that Sporelli phrased it, so similar to Caffaro back in Central City, but it gave Sporelli a prime opportunity to try and kick Dick out of the way. Emphasis on the word  _try_. As Guiliano's foot flew towards Dick's head, Nightwing shot out a hand and grasped Sporelli's ankle, mere inches from where it would've slammed into Dick's temple.

"Don't even  _try_ ," Dick growled, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Sporelli smirked.

"Don't worry," the mafia son said smugly. "I won't disrupt whatever mission Batman seems to have sent you on, nor will I tell anyone who you really are. I just have... _one_ teensy tiny request,"

" _What_?" Dick growled again, his temper hanging on by a shoestring. They'd already been made, and the mission had barely started. Sporelli smirked again.

"Let Celeste, or whoever you really are, give me a kiss?" Guiliano's only response was Dick slamming his elbow into the side of his head, knocking him out cold, again. Nightwing stood still for a moment, catching his breath, before turning back around to face Wally, Artemis, and Reese.

"You okay?" Dick whispered to Reese, and the girl gave a small smile.

"I think I should be asking  _you_ that," she said, and Dick chuckled before he faced Wally.

"Where's Bruce and the rest of the Team?" Wally gestured back towards the main ballroom.

"In the main room, I think," he said. "Conner and Miss M said something about surveillance, and I think Kaldur and Babs were trying to get some info from the other patrons," Dick gave a solid nod before he gently grabbed the crook of Reese's elbow and dragged her out of the room, but just as they were getting to the doorway he stopped and turned around.

"Bluebird?" Reese asked as Dick bent down over Sporelli's body. "What are you doing?" Dick slid the keycard that unlocked Reese's hotel room from Sporelli's suit pocket and held it up in the air.

"Almost forgot this," he said, before standing up again and heading out the door. Dick weaved his way back through the ballroom, holding Reese's hand securely in his. He could just see the top of Bruce's head where the head of Wayne Enterprises was standing, talking to Vicki Vale before there was the sound of shattering glass, and Reese collapsed to the ground, hands clamped over her ears.

Dick whipped towards her and hooked an arm around Reese's waist just before she would've hit the floor. There were tears streaming down Reese's cheeks, and blood was dripping out of her ears. It was almost exactly like when she had been attacked by that sonic device at Christmas when Luke had been killed. But, Dick couldn't hear anything. Then, a sudden thought flashed through Dick's mind. What if...he jerked his head around before he caught sight of M'gann, who was currently in a similar predicament to him, seeing as how Conner was in the same position as Reese. 

Conner. Superboy. Who had  _super-hearing,_ and just because Waller had said that Reese's powers were disappearing, didn't mean that there wouldn't be other side-effects. Before Dick could think too much on it, there was a thudding sound, and he looked up, only for his blood to run cold.

There, standing just inside the now-shattered front window, were the two rogue Shadows that had attacked Celeste and Diana. With East Asian features, the two men were the same two that had been in front of Reese and Alfred when they had checked into the hotel two days ago, though Dick didn't know that.

"Dick!" he heard Bruce cry over the sudden commotion in the ballroom as everyone else began to panic. "Get Reese out of here!" Without giving Batman a response, Nightwing lifted Reese up, bridal-style, and made his way, albeit slowly through the charging throng of people as everyone tried to get out of the hotel at once. 

When he'd come here earlier, Dick had been dressed as Nightwing, and even though he'd come in through Reese's window, Dick had parked his motorcycle back behind the hotel. Right before he revved the engine and sped off into the wintery Gotham night, there was a rageful shout from inside the ballroom, and Dick's blood froze.

"Where is  _Rhysalin Michaels_?"

**Gotham City; January 15th, 22:30 EST**

Reese 

There was too much noise. Too much sound. Reese couldn't focus on anything. All coherent thought had flown right out the window when the glass had shattered and a high-pitched screaming entered Reese's eardrum, and the skin was vibrating too fast for Reese's brain to process, and of course, the decibel level didn't help either.

Reese thought she heard Dick's voice, and then Bruce's, but she was going in and out of consciousness, so it was hard to tell. She also had the sensation of movement and freezing cold, but that was quickly diminished as something, it felt like a jacket, was wrapped around her torso.

The movement abruptly stopped, and she was lifted up, carried by a pair of muscular arms that she recognized as Dick's. Reese didn't know what was happening, the last thing she remembered was realizing that Guiliano Sporelli knew who they were, and what the Team was up to.

"Alfred!" Dick's voice cried, and Reese was confused. Why did he sound so scared? They must be back at the Manor, probably in the Batcave, because there was the sound of footsteps before the familiar British voice exclaimed in shock.

"Master Dick! What happened?" Reese felt Dick's chest heave a deep breath before Nightwing spoke.

"Shadows...at the Fundraiser. They used this sonic device that made Reese and Conner's hearing go crazy," Conner? What was wrong with Conner? There was that sensation of movement again. Dick must be carrying her. The ringing in her ears got louder, and Reese felt tears stream down her face. The noise needed to  _stop._

Reese was set down on a soft surface, and a pair of hands placed themselves on either side of her head. Through the ringing in her ears, Reese was able to focus on a voice. Dick's voice.

"Argent? Rhysalin, focus on me. Don't think about anything else. Focus on my voice.  _Please_ , Argent, I need to know you're okay," Gradually. Gradually and slowly, the ringing in her ears faded, and Reese was able to blink her eyes open. She was met with Dick Grayson's worried face, his blue eyes shining. He had taken off his suit jacket, and his tie, while he rolled his shirt sleeves up to his elbows.

"Hey, Bluebird," Reese whispered, her voice hoarse from screaming. "Worried about me?" Dick gave a choked-up laugh, and he pressed his lips against Reese's for a split second before leaning away.

"I was so scared," he whispered, cupping her cheeks with his hands, and pressing his forehead against Reese's. "I thought-actually, I don't know  _what_ I thought. I'm just so glad you're okay," As soon as the adrenaline had faded from Reese's mind, came the pain.

_Excruciating_ pain firing from every corner of her brain, and it made tears form in Reese's eyes all over again. She clutched the side of her head, and Reese felt Dick caress her cheek, and his worried voice cut through through the rest of the pain.

"Rhysalin, what's wrong?" She looked up at Dick and gave a sad smile.

"A headache," she whispered, and Dick's eyes darkened with concern.

"You need sleep, Argent," he whispered, careful not to aggravate her headache more than it already was. "Come on, I'll take you upstairs. You need to rest." Reese gave a weary nod, and once again, Dick lifted her up, bridal style, and carried her upstairs.

She was already feeling the strains of the day, so Reese was dozing as they walked up the Batcave stairs. Through the haze in her mind, she heard Dick talking to someone, presumably Jason, before the two of them entered a room.

Dick set Reese down on a bed and she subconsciously knew they were in Dick's bedroom. As her eyes fell closed, Reese felt Dick unzip her shoes, and she heard a ' _clunk_ ' that signified he had thrown them someplace in his room.

"Stay," she whispered, half-asleep, as Reese felt Dick stand. There was a moment of silence before there was a small chuckle, and she felt Dick climb into the bed beside her, still in his dress shirt and pants.

"You'll feel better in the morning, Rhysalin," Dick whispered, his lips ghosting over Reese's temple. "For now, rest," Reese curled up into Dick's chest, and Nightwing wrapped his arms around her. After a few seconds, Reese fell into a deep, restful sleep, Dick breathing deeply beside her.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the link for the dress that Reese is wearing at the fundraiser...  
> http://www.abaday.com/upload/thumbnail/upload_images_product_2014_03_1394010715835283555_800x.png
> 
> And her shoes...  
> https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81Zy80ASCNL._SR500,500_.jpg


	10. Chapter 9...Rubble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kid Flash tries to figure out Reese's newfound super-hearing, while Nightwing reads up on the two Shadows who attacked the Fundraiser, and Jason, Lauren, and Dick run into Sporelli at Gotham Academy. After Dick and Reese discover that Celeste has been kidnapped by the two Shadows, they head to the Hall of Justice with Lauren, only for Reese and her sister to become trapped under a pile of rubble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing from Lauren's POV, so I hope it turned out well because I had a lot of fun writing it. Remember, her and Jason are eleven in this, so that's why I put in some on-the-fence swear words. To be honest, I've heard eight-year-olds say the f-word before, but until Jason comes back from the dead, he does NOT have a potty mouth, so I tried to limit their swearing as much as possible.
> 
> Also...PLEASE READ THE NOTES AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER, THEY ARE IMPORTANT!

**Wayne Manor; January 16th, 06:30 EST**

Dick

When Dick's alarm went off the next morning, he blinked his eyes open to find himself still wearing the same clothes from the Fundraiser last night. For a moment, Dick just lay in bed for a moment, listening.

He heard Jason and Lauren yelling about something downstairs, and Alfred, trying to placate them. Nightwing turned his head to the side to find Reese, still in her dress, but without her shoes, curled up on his chest, her torso rising and falling as she breathed deeply, still asleep.

Dick was glad for that. Reese needed the rest. With everything that happened last night, from Sporelli walkinginto Reese's hotel room, the actual fundraiser, then realizing that all along Guiliano Sporelli had known who they were, who Batman was, and how he had used it to his advantage. Then, when the Shadows had attacked them, with that sonic weapon that made it seem like a million needles were firing into Reese and Conner's brains all at once.

He didn't know what had happened at the Fundraiser after he and Reese had left. Dick had fallen asleep only minutes after Reese had. Nightwing turned his head to look at his nightstand, and, careful not to wake Reese up, maneuvered his arm in a way that allowed him to swipe the keycard he had lifted off of Sporelli, and hold it in front of his face. Dick didn't know how Sporelli had even gotten his  _hands_ on this.

As Dick was turning it over in his hands, a voice suddenly spoke, startling Nightwing so much he jumped, but Reese only murmured a bit before she fell back asleep.

"You planning on using that?" Dick lifted his head to see Wally perched on the arm of the couch that was in Dick's room, a smug smirk on the speedster's face.

"Dude!" Dick hissed, quiet enough that he wouldn't wake Reese. "It's six-thirty in the morning. What are you  _doing_ here?" Wally shrugged and lifted himself off of the couch.

"I thought I'd see what you were up to. You never came back to the Fundraiser last night. Some reporters were wondering where Nightwing was. Imagine my surprise when I find you here, asleep, with Reese on top of you," Dick glared at Kid Flash.

"Would you mind cooling it with the innuendos, KF?" he asked. Slowly and carefully, Dick extracted himself from underneath Reese, but he didn't realize how close he was to the edge of the bed, and Nightwing ended up falling onto the floor, causing Wally to laugh. "Shh!" Dick hissed as he picked himself up, glancing over his shoulder at Reese's sleeping form. When she didn't move, Dick let out a breath.

"She needs the sleep, Wally," Dick spoke before Wally could, and walked silently across his bedroom floor to his closet. As he pulled out a faded long-sleeved shirt, Dick heard Wally sigh.

"Dick, what happened last night?" Nightwing felt his back muscles tense, and he purposefully faced away from Kid Flash, staring hard into the back wall of his closet, at the secret door that went down into the Batcave. "One minute, you and Reese were going to talk to Bruce, the next the League of Shadows is attacking, and the both of you disappear," Dick pulled his dress shirt off before putting the other shirt on and took a deep breath before he turned back to Wally.

"The Shadows had some sort of...sonic  _weapon_ , that I can only guess emitted some sort of high-frequency soundwave, like a Canary Cry, only too high to be heard by the normal human ear," Wally had a confused look on his face, so Dick elaborated. "Like a sort of dog whistle. Conner has super-hearing, so he was also affected," As the two of them walked out of Dick's room and downstairs, Wally spoke up.

" 'Also affected'?" he echoed. "Does that mean Reese has some sort of super-hearing also?" Dick sighed, realizing he couldn't keep this from KF any longer.

"Yeah," he said quietly as they headed into the dining room. "Wally, when I said that nothing was wrong with Reese's powers, I lied. Something  _is_ wrong with her powers but I didn't know if I should tell you or not, because one, it's not my secret to tell, and two, even if it was, I didn't know how much I _should_ tell you." Dick was rambling, and he realized that, but he didn't know how to stop.

Wally suddenly clamped his hands downon Dick's shoulders and spun Nightwing around so he and Kid Flash were staring at each other. When he had Dick's attention, Wally let go and gave Dick a wry smile.

"Dick, calm down," he said slowly. "I understand. I might not know  _why_ , but I understand. Now, what do you want to do about it?" Dick's face lit up, and he began waving his hands as he explained to Wally everything that he wanted to figure out about this weird new ability of Reese's.

"Well, I was thinking-" he abruptly cut off and glanced at Wally, who had just sat down at a place Alfred had set for him at the table, across from Jason and Lauren, who were currently talking in hushed whispers, and glancing over at Dick every few seconds. Nightwing had a feeling they were both talking about him, but he waved it off and turned back to Wally. "Wait. You actually want to help me?" Wally nodded.

"Why not? Sounds fun. Plus, I get to tease you about Reese all day, so that's a plus too," Dick scowled. He was now seriously regretting letting Wally help him with this. Snagging a few blueberry muffins from the basket Alfred had placed on the table, Dick and Wally walked into Bruce's study to head down to the Batcave, only to be stopped by the aforementioned Britsh butler.

"Master Dick, Master Wally, I was wondering when you two were going to show. When Master Wally came to the Manor at five-thirty this morning, I was skeptical to let him in," Dick turned to Wally as Alfred walked back down the hallway, towards the dining room, where Jason and Lauren were currently arguing about which ship was better, Wally and Artemis, or Dick and Reese.

Nightwing pressed a hand against his forehead and groaned as he listened to his adoptive brother and his girlfriend's younger sister battle it out. After a few moments, a thought flashed through his head and he turned to Wally.

"Wait, you were here at five- _thirty_? Were you watching me  _sleep_?" As the grandfather clock swung open, Wally laughed nervously and Dick glared at him.

"Nah, I dozed off after about twenty minutes. It's just...you two looked so  _adorable_ , and it was  _boring_ ," Without answering, Dick threw an eskrima stick over his shoulder, and without looking, knew Wally used his super speed to catch it. Knowing KF couldn't see him, Dick smirked and pressed a button on the other one. The eskrima Wally was holding instantly electrified, and Wally dropped it with a sharp cry. "Ow! Dude!"

Dick smirked again over his shoulder as he headed over to the Batcomputer and pulled up the file that had the results of Reese's blood test he had taken before the two of them left for CADMUS.

"That was for watching us sleep," He glanced at Wally to see that Kid Flash was bending over to pick up the eskrima stick. As his fingers grasped it, Dick electrified it again, and Wally grasped his hand as he cried out. "And that was just for fun," Wally sent him a glare, but Nightwing only chuckled for a minute before his smile dropped and he turned to the Batcomputer, quickly reading out the information.

"Okay," Dick said as Wally came to stand at his shoulder. "These are two strands of Reese's DNA, taken at different times when she had her powers. This one," he gestured to the original. "Is from when she first got her powers, back in Metropolis. And, this one," he pulled up the most recent test, and from the edge of his vision saw Wally's eyes widen as he looked between the two. "Is from a blood test Reese let me take right before we left for CADMUS,"

Dick stepped back to give Wally a moment to read through the file, while he sat down in Bruce's chair and pulled up the headline for the Fundraiser last night on one of the other monitors.

**'Teen Superheroes Stop Assassin Attack. But Where Are Nightwing And Silver X?** ' As Dick read through the article, he understood why Wally was so hell-bent on finding out why he and Reese had never come back to the hotel. It seemed that the Shadows, who the Gotham PD had now identified as Hai Fan and Jiu-Lang Kong, had been exceptionally skilled, like,  _Cheshire_ -leveled skilled. 

One of the other donors, an old acquaintance of Bruce's, a man named Vincent Shaw, had been the only casualty, but that was only because he had fallen down the stairs and broken his neck in the pandemonium as everyone else tried to get out of the hotel when Kong and Fan had first attacked. Dick had only met Shaw once, at one of the first galas that Bruce dragged him too, but he had seemed like a pretty solid person and was one of the few uncorrupted people  _in_ Gotham.

Exiting out of the news article, Nightwing pulled up the files Batman had made of Hai Fan and Jiu-Lang Kong. They were both relatively young, in their early twenties, both of them, and were ex-secret agents for the Chinese government. It seemed that Talia al Ghul had been the one to recruit them, and if Bruce knew Talia as well as he said he did, Dick knew what her "recruitment" methods entailed, and it made him squirm.

Jiu-Lang was the younger one, having only turned twenty this past November, and was known for sleeping around, which, Nightwing figured, was how he met Ra's al Ghul's daughter. Hai, on the other hand, had just turned twenty-four, and been prominent in his job at the government, until an operation went south and he was exposed as having sold information to Vietnam, who was one of China's enemies. He'd also been in a long-term relationship of almost eight years with his childhood sweetheart Mai, and the file said he had been thinking about proposing. That is until he met Talia. That was where everything he'd ever worked for went down the drain.

Dick quickly hacked into the League of Shadows files and pulled up the two they had on Kong and Fan. This was where it got interesting. It seemed that Kong and Fan had been on some sort of assignment in the Himalayas, something to do with a mountain-man before something went wrong, and they were sent back to Nanda Parbat without their info. Dick looked at the time stamp and froze when he realized that the mission date was a couple days before Reese had said she was taken in one of the remote Nepali villages. Nepal. Which was a country situated in the middle of the  _Himalaya_ _s_. Shit.

Reese hadn't been taken because of some retaliation against Batman or the Justice League.  _This was a revenge hit._ Nightwing quickly skimmed the rest of the files and slammed his fist against the desk when he finished, startling Wally and scattering some other files Bruce had sitting there. After Dick and Reese had escaped from Nanda Parbat, it seemed that Fan and Kong had dropped off the grid, and Ra's al Ghul hadn't sent anyone after them.

_Probably because he already knew where they were going_ , Dick thought angrily, standing up and beginning to pace, running his hands through his hair.  _Reese_ had probably been the reason those two Shadows were sent back to Nanda Parbat. Even when she wasn't on the Team, she was still being a hero.

"Dick, what is it?" Wally's voice interrupted Nightwing's pacing, and Dick stopped and turned to Kid Flash.

"Those two Shadows that attacked the Fundraiser?" he asked. "They're after Reese. Like, literally  _hunting her down_. Ra's al Ghul probably wanted us to escape from Nanda Parbat so he could dispatch Kong and Fan to go after her."

"Are you okay?" Wally asked, looking concerned, and Dick whipped around to glare menacingly at KF.

"Does it  _look_ like I'm okay?" he shouted rhetorically, before throwing out an arm. "The girl I love is being hunted down by  _assassins_ , KF! How do you  _think_ I feel right now?" Wally crossed his arms and leaned back against the Batcomputer's desk.

"News _flash_ , Nightwing," Wally said coldly. "The girl  _I_ love's entire  _family_ are assassins. What do you think  _I_ have to deal with?" Dick only scoffed and turned his head to the side, avoiding Wally's gaze. Of course, he knew what Wally had to deal with while dating Artemis, he was just stressed right now.

There was absolutely no goddamn way he was going to let Fan and Kong get their hands on Reese, the main reason being he didn't want her to die. But another, smaller part of him was also scared Jiu-Lang Kong would try and sleep with her.

"What'd you find on the super-hearing?" Dick growled after a few seconds of angry, tense silence. Wally sighed and turned back towards the Batcomputer.

"Well, it seems like there was a hidden component in the original makeup of the Silver X. From what I could gather, it acts as a sort of...Failsafe, if anything were to ever go wrong. Instead of giving the recipient the power to shift into animals, it gives them different powers, like heightened senses," Dick gave a sigh of relief as he looked over the information that Wally had compiled.

"So there's nothing directly wrong with Reese?" he asked, and Wally nodded.

"She just needs to learn how to control her super-hearing, and she should be fine," Dick gave a big sigh of relief and collapsed into Bruce's chair.

"Thank god," he whispered, before tilting his head to look up at Wally. "Hey, I'm sorry I yelled at you," he said quietly. "It's just..." he trailed off, not sure how to continue, but Wally waved a hand.

"Dude, don't worry about it," He perched himself on the edge of the Batcomputer's desk, and gave Dick an understanding smile. "I get it. You're worried about her. I'd be the same way if it was Artemis. Just, next time,  _please_ don't electrocute me," Dick laughed.

"No promises," he told Wally with a raised eyebrow but shook his head when Wally squawked indignantly. "I'm kidding, KF. As long as you don't piss me off, you're safe from having sixteen-hundred volts run through your speedster system," Wally glared at him, but Dick knew he was kidding. He wouldn't  _really_ shock Kid Flash. Maybe. Probably not.  _Yeah_ , it was more trial-and-error than anything else at this point. Whoops.

"So, what do we now?" Wally asked after a few minutes, in which Dick did some more digging into the League of Shadows "ghosts", and he also sent a message, from the Batcomputer to GCPD telling them to put out an APB on Kong and Fan. Dick spun the chair around so he was facing KF, and laced his fingers behind his head.

"Well..." he trailed off and looked up at Wally. "I have absolutely no idea," He saw Wally glance over his shoulder at the Batcomputer, before he met Dick's eyes again.

"Video-game tournament on the Batcomputer?" he asked, and Dick smirked.

"One round, sudden death, the person who dies first loses?" Wally nodded. "You're on."

**Gotham Academy; March 4th, 15:30 EST**

Lauren

For the next two months, everything was quiet. In terms of Reese's mission anyway. Nightwing and Batman had both agreed that for the time being, Reese would be staying at the Manor, and to be honest? Lauren agreed with them. Sure, her sister was a complete badass, and could undoubtedly take care of herself, but when the younger Michaels sister had been told by Dick Grayson that there were a pair of freakin'  _assassins_ hunting down Reese, Lauren had marched right up to Reese's bedroom and thrown the door open, startling her sister so much she'd ended up almost hitting Lauren with one of her bō staffs. Why Reese had that in her room, Lauren had no idea.

Needless to say, when Lauren had told her sister that she needed to stay in her room until further notice, to say Reese was mad would be an understatement. Even though Reese was now almost six years older than Lauren, the younger sister had taken care of the older one on multiple occasions, like when Reese was too caught up in a story to worry about eating, sleeping, or god forbid, taking a  _shower_. But, eventually, she had relented, on one condition. She wouldn't be on house arrest. Lauren had agreed.

"All I'm saying is that if Batman and Superman would somehow end up fighting each other, Bats would win, hands down," Jason's perky voice interrupted Lauren's reminiscing, and the girl looked up to find Robin smiling down at her as the two of them grabbed their backpacks from their lockers at the end of the day.

"I'm sorry," Lauren said quickly. "I didn't hear what you said." Jason sighed teasingly as they waited by the front steps for Dick. Even though Nightwing had wanted to stay at the Manor with Reese and help her and Superboy control Reese's new super-hearing, Alfred had managed to convince him to come back to school, telling the school officials that Dick had been sick with a nasty stomach bug for the past two weeks.

"Okay, Laur, honest question," Jason started again as they both leaned against the stone stairs. "Who would win? Batman, or Superman?" Lauren thought for a second before she smirked and turned to Jason.

"Wonder Woman," she said simply, and Robin threw his hands up in exasperation.

"You can't pick her!" he cried as Lauren laughed. "Diana wasn't even an option!" Lauren quickly waved her hands as a group of freshman passed by the two fifth graders.

"Shh!" she hissed, glaring at Jason. "Secret  _identities_ , remember?" Jason quickly covered his mouth with one hand, and Lauren rolled her eyes. Jason may be Batman's sidekick, but he was literally the  _worst_ at keeping secrets. That was one of the things that made him so adorable.

"On a totally unrelated note, are you ready for the field trip to S.T.A.R Labs?" Jason asked after a few minutes. Lauren nodded excitedly. Next week, Gotham Academy was taking the fifth graders and juniors, Dick's grade, on a "research excursion", as the teachers called it, to the Metropolis branch of S.T.A.R Labs. They would've gone to Central City, but it was too far away, and unless you were a speedster, it would take at least six hours to drive there from Gotham.

"I heard Reese tell Artemis yesterday that Dick found her a way to sneak her in," Lauren said, stifling a giggle. She was totally happy for her sister and Dick, who wouldn't be? Lauren didn't think she had  _ever_ seen Reese this happy while in a relationship. Especially not when she was dating Kaldur. Then, it had seemed like Reese and Aqualad were moving too fast. But, with Nightwing? To say those two were made for each other would be an understatement.

"Please," Jason said, rolling his eyes. "I bet you fifty bucks that halfway through the tour, Dick and Reese sneak off to go and make out in some storage room," Lauren cringed. She did  _not_ need that image in her head. Nonetheless, Lauren shook her head, eager to take the gamble with Robin.

"Nah, I say they sneak off before we even hit a fourth of the way through," she stuck out a hand, and Jason shook it. Over his shoulder, Lauren caught sight of a man, watching them from just outside of the school's wrought-iron gates. He looked to be in his late teens, younger than twenty, but too old for high school. Nineteen, maybe. He was wearing a stained, blue dress shirt, and his stringy black hair was tied up. Before Lauren could say anything to Jason, a familiar voice piped up, and she whipped around to see Dick jogging out of the school doors, blazer hanging over one arm, while the other held his backpack and loosened his tie at the same time.

"Jay-bird! Lauren! Ready to go?" As he reached them, Lauren grasped Dick's forearm, making Nightwing look down at her.

"There's a man," Lauren whispered, her eyes flicking over to the gate for a moment before turning back to face Dick's blue ones. "By the gate. He's watching us," from the corner of her eyes, Lauren saw both Jason and Dick tense, and she knew that Robin and Nightwing had taken their place.

Dick lifted his head to stare at the gate, where the man was still standing, and Lauren shivered at the sudden coldness and anger that was in Dick's eyes when his gaze landed on the man. Beside her, Lauren heard Jason suck in a breath.

"Is that-" he was cut off by Dick pushing his way between them, and stalking across the yard, making a beeline for the gate, his face blazing with rage.

"Who is that?" Lauren whispered, and Jason leaned over to whisper in her ear.

" _That's_ Guiliano Sporelli," he said quietly, and Lauren gasped. Guiliano Sporelli? As in, the Italian dude that hit on Reese, Dick knocked out, and knows the Team's, not to mention  _Batman's_ , secret identities?  _That_ Guiliano Sporelli?

There was a sudden commotion from over by the gate, and both Lauren and Jason gasped as they watched Dick throw Sporelli into the stone wall that surrounded Gotham Academy on all sides. Lauren and Jason ran over as Dick hoisted Sporelli up by the collar of his shirt, pressing him hard against the wall.

"What the  _hell_ do you think you're doing here?" Dick growled, and to Lauren, it sounded a bit scary. "You need to  _leave_. Before I lose my temper," to her shock, Sporelli only smirked.

"I think it's a little late for that," he said smoothly, and Lauren's eyes widened. Not many were able to stand up to a pissed-off Dick Grayson. Then, Sporelli's eyes flicked over to Lauren, and she edged closer to Jason as a sneer edged its way onto his face. "Is this her sister?" he asked, and Lauren didn't need to think about it to know who he was talking about.

"Shut up," Dick growled, teeth bared and his face inches from Sporelli's own. Not even bothering, Sporelli turned his head to the side and stared at Lauren.

"I can see the family resemblance," he said, his voice sliding like silk. "Both are undeniably beautiful," Lauren grimaced, and before Sporelli could say anything else, and faster than Lauren could capture, Dick's hand had curled itself into a fist and slammed into the side of Sporelli's face, knocking him to the ground. Jason let out a surprised sort of noise, and Lauren covered her mouth with both hands as she watched Sporelli try and throw his own punch at Dick, but no one, except for maybe Batman and Black Canary, was a match for Nightwing's martial arts skills. As the two began to fight on the ground, Lauren saw Jason pull out his phone.

"Who are you calling?" she asked, and Jason looked up.

"Reese," he said simply, and Lauren raised an eyebrow. "Maybe she can diffuse this whole situation before those two end up killing each other. _Hey,_ Reese!" Jason greeted a bit sheepishly Lauren's older sister as she answered. "Yeah, uh, you might want to come down to Gotham Academy," he glanced over at where Sporelli was currently trying to land a hit on Dick, but Nightwing kept dodging, goading the Italian on.

"Come on! Is that really the best you can do?" By now a crowd had formed around the two, and Lauren and Jason had to push their way through about six hundred different high schoolers and middle schoolers.

"Why?" Jason asked in what Lauren could only guess was Reese's own phrasing of the question. "Well, uh, let me just show you," he quickly tapped the camera and turned the phone around so Reese was able to see the fight. Lauren heard her sister's voice come through Jason's phone.

"We'll be right there," Reese said quickly, and just before she hung up, Lauren was able to catch a glimpse of Reese, standing among what looked like a crowd of businessmen. Where the hell was she? And who was "we"?

Twenty minutes later, Dick and Guiliano Sporelli were still going at it, and Lauren was surprised that no teachers had come out yet. What kind of school  _was_ this? A Gotham school, that's what it was. Lauren and Jason both let out separate sighs of relief as they saw a sleek black car pull up to the curb, and Reese hopped out. What they  _didn't_ expect, was for Bruce and  _Diana_ to step out after her.

"Ooh," Jason said. "They're gonna get in  _trouble_ ," Lauren slapped his chest and watched as the crowd instantly parted for the three of them. Reese ran forward and hauled Dick off of Sporelli, as Bruce pulled Sporelli up to his feet by his collar and made the two face each other.

"What the hell is going on here?" Reese burst out, and her gaze turned stone-cold when she saw Sporelli. "What are  _you_ doing here?" Lauren gasped as Sporelli suddenly backhanded her sister, and Dick went to throw himself at him again but was held back by Diana.

"Stand.  _Down_ ," the Amazon warrior hissed. "It's no use having a confrontation here," Bruce had dispersed the crowd, and by now it was just the seven of them. Sporelli was stared down by two senior Leaguers and three members of the Team, and Lauren, who, as Jason said, "had the potential for a nasty Batglare". After a few seconds, the Italian man began to squirm.

"What are you doing here?" Bruce asked, and Lauren realized he was using his Batman-voice, the one used to intimidate criminals. Again, she was shocked as Sporelli only chuckled menacingly, his flicking over each superhero in front of him before they finally landed on Lauren, the only true civilian out of the bunch.

"Can't I just observe the populace?" he asked snidely, and Reese balked forward, but Wonder Woman wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her back.

"You're stalking my  _sister_ ," she hissed, and Sporelli smirked at her.

"Aw," he cooed. "I hope you're not jealous, pretty bird. I'll still have all the time I need for  _you_ ," Dick suddenly let out a growl, but he was held too secure by Diana to do much damage. To be honest, Lauren had an itching to punch Guiliano Sporelli herself.

"Enough," Bruce said harshly as he glared darkly at Sporelli. "You have no right to be here. Leave.  _Now_." Surprisingly, Sporelli actually listened, but not before he jerked his head towards Reese and  _spat in her face_. This time, Dick actually  _broke free_ of Diana's grip and launched himself forward, but before he could land his fist on Sporelli, Bruce yanked him back. The six of them watched Sporelli as he walked away until Jason decided to break the awkward silence.

"Well," he said perkily, clapping his hands together, making everyone look at him. Jason turned his head towards Dick. "How'd you like your first day back at school?" Dick glared at where Sporelli had disappeared, and Lauren shuddered.

" _Terrific_ ," he growled as they all walked towards the car, where Alfred was undoubtedly waiting for them. "I'm just  _peachy_ ," From the corner of her eye, Lauren saw Reese weave her fingers through Dick's, and Nightwing instantly calmed down. Lauren smirked. She knew that whenever Dick or Reese was either mad, sad, or extremely stressed, the other would be one of the only ones able to calm them down.

Alfred opened the door for Lauren, and she slid inside, Jason right behind her. Once everyone had come into the car, with Reese and Dick bringing up the rear, Alfred shut the door and got into the driver's seat. As he drove away, Lauren noticed they weren't going the normal way back to the manor. In fact, they were going in the complete opposite direction. Glancing out the window, Lauren turned to Bruce.

"Where are we going?" she asked, and Bruce looked up from where he had been doing Wayne Enterprises business on his phone.

"Emergency meeting at the Hall of Justice," he said simply, and Lauren's eyes widened. "Superman wanted us all to be there," Lauren raised an eyebrow. She wasn't a hero, why would the Justice League want  _her_? Reese must've noticed her skeptical look because she looked up and gave Lauren a small smirk.

"Don't worry, Ren," Reese said before she sent Dick a glare, who instantly looked down at his feet as if they the most interesting thing in the world. " _They_ don't want me at the meeting either," Lauren snickered. Oh, Dick was  _so_ going to get in trouble for that later.

As the car entered Washington D.C's city limits, Alfred turned so they went off on an unmarked gravel road, and parked the car in front of a clump of bushes. As everyone else stepped out of the car, Lauren looked at the shrubbery with disdain.

"Uh. why are we here?" she asked, and Reese glanced over her shoulder.

"Hidden Zeta Tube," she said simply, and Lauren rolled her eyes.

"Of course," she said as they all stepped inside. "Because why  _wouldn't_ there be a secret superhero transport system on the edge of the United States's capital?" Jason's voice came through the bushes.

"Come on, Lauren!"

**Recognized Batman 02, Wonder Woman 03, Nightwing B01, Silver X B10, Robin B11, Lauren Michaels A33**

Lauren stumbled as she stepped out of the Zeta tube, and Jason had to steady her.

"I don't care  _how_ many times I use the Zeta tubes," she grumbled as they walked out of a  _different_ clump of bushes outside the League's public HQ. "I  _still_ hate those things," Jason chuckled and gave Lauren a smile, that made the younger Michaels sister blush. Sometimes Robin was just too damn cute.

Over his shoulder, Lauren caught Reese's smirk, and she glared at her sister. Reese didn't have to say anything, Lauren already knew what she was thinking.

"Shut up!" she cried, and Reese's smirk grew as they approached the front lawn of the Hall.

"I didn't say anything," Reese giggled, trying to claim her innocence, and Lauren scowled. 

"You didn't have to," she grumbled, before coming up behind Reese and jabbing her foot at the back of Reese's knees.  Her sister's legs crumpled as Lauren's toes hit her MCL, but Dick, ever the black-and-blue knight, instantly swept down and lifted Reese up, bridal-style. Lauren scowled at Nightwing as he set Reese down.

Lauren and her sister lounged on the massive marble steps leading up to the Hall of Justice, while everyone else headed through a secret side entrance, where they would change into their costumes.

"What were you, Bruce, and Diana doing before Jason called?" Lauren asked quietly after a few seconds, and Reese glanced at her for a second, sighed heavily, and turned to look at the D.C sky, which was a cool gray. It was the beginning of March, so there was still a good three weeks until Spring, but it was beginning to warm up.

"I'll tell you," Reese said quietly. "But you cannot, and I repeat, can _not_ tell Jason and Dick," Lauren raised an eyebrow but nodded nonetheless. Reese took a deep breath before she spoke. "Celeste is missing," she said simply, and Lauren's eyes widened.

"Celeste? As in, Celeste Ricci, your doppelgänger? The Celeste Ricci who was engaged to Guiliano Sporelli?  _That_ Celeste Ricci?" Reese clenched her eyes shut and nodded.

"It happened a few nights ago. Diana and Celeste were at this safehouse Bruce had in Boston, and apparently, much like when they had been attacked back in January, masked men broke in and somehow  _drugged_ Diana, then when she woke up, Celeste was gone. The only thing they left," she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small shuriken. "was this," she handed it to Lauren, and the younger girl gasped as she realized what it was.

"Reese!" Lauren cried, throwing the League of Shadows weapon onto the steps. "Those two assassins came after Celeste and Diana because they were looking for you! What next, Luke coming back to life and killing one of  _us_?" Reese shot Lauren a glare when she spoke of Luke, and Lauren looked down at her shoes. "Sorry," Reese shook her head.

"No, it's fine, Ren," she said as Lauren sat back down. "Bruce was trying to figure out a way to track Kong and Fan since the APB Dick sent out hasn't turned up anything when Jason called," For the next couple of minutes, Reese and Lauren were talking about small things. Then, Lauren brought up Reese's seventeenth birthday, which was in two days, that Friday.

"What do you want for your birthday, Reese?" she asked, and her sister shrugged.

"I have absolutely no idea. I think Dick is taking me out, but don't tell him I know, because he thinks it's going to be a surpri-" she abruptly cut off, and Lauren looked up to see that her sister had an expression of pure terror on her face.

"Reese, what is it?" Lauren asked quietly, and Reese's head whipped around, looking for something. "Reese?" Lauren's sister ran over to the same clump of bushes where the outside Zeta tube was located and moved the shrubbery out of the way. A shrill gasp cut through the air, and Lauren ran over to where her sister was standing, only to see a bomb strapped to the ground.

"Move!" Reese cried, and tackled Lauren to the ground, just as the bomb exploded, a cloud of flame and smoke billowing into the sky. The entire square trembled, and people began to run in fear, but Reese didn't move. Lauren turned to see her sister bent over on the grass, hands clamped over her ears. Her super-hearing, Lauren realized. Her heightened senses made her susceptible to anything with a super-high frequency.

Lauren tugged on Reese's arm, trying to get her sister to move, but Reese stayed stubbornly in place. There was a rumbling sound from above them, and Lauren looked up in time to see a massive chunk of the marble stairs break free, and it tumbled down towards them. Then, everything went black.

**Hall of Justice; March 4th, 18:00 EST**

Dick

As Batman, Nightwing, Wonder Woman, and Robin walked into the library of the Hall of Justice, Dick felt apprehensive. He didn't want to leave Reese and Lauren on their own outside, what with the League of Shadows still out there,  _and_ Sporelli, but if he had said so, Reese surely would've killed him.

He also hadn't wanted to stop Reese from going to whatever emergency Justice League meeting Superman had called, even Dick didn't know what it was about, but when Bruce had called him earlier that day and said they would need to go to the Hall after he, Lauren, and Jason were done with school, Bruce had also said to not let Reese come.

"What do you think this is about?" Robin hissed from the side of his mouth as the four of them walked into the library, whose observation windows had been shut, for privacy purposes. Dick shrugged but stopped when he noticed that the rest of the Team, sans Batgirl, who was on a vacation with her father, and Beastboy, who was doing who knows what, was also standing around the main computer, grim looks on their faces.

"What's going on?" Nightwing asked as he and Robin stepped inside. Batman sighed and tapped a button on the computer's keyboard, and a video clip popped up. Dick's gut clenched when he realized that it was the security footage from Bruce's safehouse outside Boston, where they had stashed Diana and Celeste after the first safehouse had been compromised, here in D.C. The entire Team watched with tensed muscles as they saw two figures break through Batman's security system and attack the house.

Dick already knew who they were. When the video clip stopped, with Kong and Fan leaving the "safe" house with an unconscious Celeste between them, Dick clenched his fists around the edge of his chair that he was leaning over the back of and stared down with his eyes squeezed shut. Two months. That was how long it had been since anything remotely concerning the League of Shadows had happened. And now this?

"Does she know about this?" Dick whispered as Bruce stepped back from the computer. When no one answered, Nightwing's eyes shot up and he glared at Bruce, mask lenses narrowed. "Does Reese  _know_?" he gave a sigh as Bruce nodded solemnly.

"I told her just before we came to the school," he said, but before Dick could reprimand him again, the entire Hall trembled, and Dick's blood ran cold as he saw Conner's head snap up. Just as Superboy was opening his mouth to say something, there was the sound of a massive explosion from outside. Outside. Lauren and  _Reese_ were outside. Nightwing flew out of the hall as if he were the Flash, and skidded to a stop when he saw the destruction outside.

The Hall of Justice itself was virtually unscathed, but the stairs were a complete disaster. Clumps of stone and marble were everywhere in heaping piles. There was a crowd of people on the far side of the square, away from the damage, but Dick blood ran cold when he couldn't see Reese and Lauren among them.

"I-I can't hear their heartbeats," Conner said quietly, and Dick and Jason whipped their heads towards Superboy.

"What do you mean, you 'can't hear their heartbeats'?" Dick asked slowly, stalking forward until he was standing right in front of Conner. "Conner? Why. Can't You.  _Hear them_?"

"Because they're probably dead, Nightwing! Do you see this rubble? If they were sitting on the stairs, waiting for you, Robin, and Batman, they would've been crushed. Hell, they probably  _are_ crushed!" M'gann set a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Conner, you're not being fair," It didn't matter though, Dick wasn't paying attention. His whole world had just come crashing down. Literally. Lauren and Reese, dead? Nightwing ran his fingers through his hair again and began to pace across the front of the Hall of Justice, the part that  _wasn't_ destroyed.

His eyes flickered over the entire scene, running over each event in his head, from when Bruce, Diana, and Reese had shown up at Gotham Academy, to now, right after he had been told that the love of his life was dead, buried under a pile of marble.

If they had come out of the Zeta tube  _there_ , and the side door that Batman, Nightwing, Wonder Woman, and Robin had entered through was  _there_ , then the only logical spot to sit and wait for them, where it would be comfortable  _and_ have a good sightline, could only be...there. Dick's finger pointed straight at one of the smaller piles of rubble, and he immediately rushed over, heaving some of the smaller pieces of marble off.

"Nightwing!" he heard Wally cry. "What are you doing?" Luckily though, Jason had caught on to what Dick was doing, and ran over to help.

"Just...because...they might be...dead," Nightwing huffed as he lifted a larger piece of marble off the pile. "Doesn't mean we shouldn't get them out!" he shouted the last part over his shoulder, before he lifted one last piece of rock, only to reveal Reese's battered body, her eyes closed. Dick quickly pressed two fingers against the side of Reese's neck and swore his heart almost stopped when he felt her neck jump with a heartbeat. She was alive.

Nightwing quickly lifted Reese's body into his arms, revealing Lauren underneath, and Robin rushed forward, and when Jason's face grew a large grin, Dick knew that Lauren was alive as well. Thank god. Dick felt Reese move in his arms, and he turned his head as he watched Reese blink her eyes open.

"Hey," he said quietly as Reese turned her head towards him, eyes wide. "You're okay," Dick placed his hands on either side of Reese's face and tilted her head towards him. He noticed that her eyes kept flicking everywhere as if she was trying to find something. His gut clenched as he also noticed that Reese didn't react when he said her name. "Rhysalin, are you okay?" he turned her heads towards him again and looked Reese dead-in-the-eye, hoping to hell that he was wrong about this. "Are. You. Okay?" 

Reese's eyes widened, and Dick felt his blood freeze. He gently set her feet on the ground as Jason roused Lauren, and when Reese's sister didn't react when Lauren said her name, Nightwing gently turned her around. He watched as the two sisters embraced each other, then slammed his fist against a nearby marble block as Batman walked up to him, while the rest of the Team stayed up at the Hall of Justice's front doors.

"What's wrong, Nightwing?" Bruce asked quietly, but it was forceful, and it made Dick look up at him. Dick looked over Bruce's shoulder at Lauren and Reese, while the former was telling the latter how happy she was that they both weren't dead, while Reese only nodded and smiled sadly every few words. "Nightwing?" Bruce spoke again, and Dick turned to him, taking a deep breath.

"Reese is deaf," he said simply, his voice void of emotion. This was bad. This was  _really_ bad. ****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that I keep adding chapters to the chapter count, but I don't want to make each chapter like twenty-thousand words, so I cut off the one I'm working on at a certain place where I think it would be a good place to stop, and then start the next chapter kind of feeding off the one before it.   
> Like, the chapter after this that takes place during Reese's birthday starts in the infirmary of the Watchtower, immediately after Nightwing tells Batman what's up with Reese's hearing.


	11. Chapter 10...Nightwing's First Kill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman and Nightwing try to figure out a way to get Reese's hearing back, and on Reese's birthday, Hai Fan attacks Dick and Reese at the Manor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be a really long chapter, so that's why it may be a bit late. Though considering I wrote Rubble in two days, I've been swimming in a lot of inspiration, so maybe I'll get it up sooner, who knows?

**Watchtower Infirmary; March 4th, 19:30 EST**

Dick

Nightwing paced outside the Watchtower's infirmary as he waited for Bruce to be done checking Reese over. The full extent of her and Lauren's injuries from the Hall of Justice explosion was pretty minor, except for a few bruised ribs Lauren had gotten, but those would heal within the month. Reese's hearing loss, on the other hand, well, Dick was hoping it was temporary, and normally temporary deafness cleared up between sixteen and forty-eight hours after the incident, but who knows.

When the four of them, them being him, Reese, Bruce, and Diana, had zeta'd up to the Watchtower, Dick had done some research on the remains of the bomb they had found in the bushes by the Hall, where the Zeta tube was located. If they had reached the Hall of Justice just fifteen minutes later than they had, all six of them would have been killed. As it were, Reese was still deaf, while the rest of the Team was watching Robin and Lauren for the time being.

"You don't need to worry, Nightwing," a calm voice spoke, and Dick looked up to find Wonder Woman, Diana, standing a few feet away, looking into the infirmary through the glass. "Bruce will find a way to heal Reese. I have faith in him. And you should too," Nightwing shrugged.

"Of course I have faith in him, Diana," Dick said quietly. "It's just...I can't help but think this has something to do with Celeste's kidnapping," from the corner of his eye, Dick saw Diana's shoulders tense, and the Amazon warrior turned towards him, her blue eyes blazing with a fiery intensity.

"What are you talking about?" she hissed, and Nightwing flinch. He pulled up his holo-computer from his wrist gauntlet and enlarged the screen enough that Wonder Woman would be able to see.

"I think Jiu-Lang Kong and Hai Fan kidnapped Celeste from Boston to send a message," he said and pulled up the video clip from the safehouses' security footage. "I think it's like what Reese said after you and Celeste had first been attacked, and you were in Mount Justice," Diana tilted her head.

"You think they grabbed the wrong girl?" she asked, but Dick shook his head. He'd been thinking on this ever since Bruce had first shown him the security footage, back at the Hall of Justice. 

"Not this time," he said solemnly. "Maybe at first, back when Reese and I got back from CADMUS, but now I think they know now that Celeste is...well, Celeste," Diana looked back through the glass, to where Bruce was currently shining a penlight in Reese's eyes, seeing her pupil dilation rate. "They did it to send a message to Reese. To tell her that they know who she is and that they're going to find her,"

But, Dick wouldn't let it come to that. He would protect Reese with his life, even if it ended up killing him. As long as the girl he loved was safe and happy, that was all Nightwing cared about. It was bad enough when he thought that Reese was dead back at the Hall of Justice. If it were to actually  _happen_? That would be the end of the world.

The sound of a door opening jerked Dick from his morbid thoughts, and Nightwing looked up to find Batman standing just outside the infirmary door as it slid shut behind him. Bruce's face was emotionless, per usual, so that didn't give Dick much hope. But, he didn't look totally depressed, so that was something.

"How is she?" Diana asked, and Bruce glanced at her for a moment before turning to Dick.

"Fortunately, the hearing loss appears to be temporary and should clear up within a day or two. Reese  _will_ be out of action until then though," Dick let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and sat heavily down in a chair next to the door.

"Thank  _god_ ," he breathed before Nightwing looked up at Batman. "Can I go see her?" One of Bruce's cowl lenses widened more than the other as if he was raising an eyebrow.

"Nightwing, she isn't in a _coma_. You could've gone in and seen her while I was doing my examination," he said simply, and Dick stared at him. That was definitely  _not_ what Bruce had said when they'd first gotten to the Watchtower. Batman said, and Dick quotes..."In order to make sure that Reese makes a full recovery, there's no need for distractions.".

Hmph,  _distraction_ , yeah right. What could  _Bruce Wayne_ say about  _distractions_? The Dark Knight was the one in love with an Amazon warrior from Themyscira. Bruce was such a hypocrite sometimes, like seriously dude, tone it down a notch.

Dick paused outside the door to go into the infirmary and glanced over his shoulder at Batman.

"Wait," he said quickly as Bruce went to walk away, back into the main room of the Watchtower. "How will I talk to her?" Bruce's cowl lens widened again, and he glanced at Nightwing.

"Reese is omnilingual, correct?" Dick nodded. He and Reese had figured out about Reese's abnormal knack for language-speaking once when the Team had been on a mission in South America during February, trying to find Kobra. They had run into some natives in the Amazon rainforest, and before M'gann was able to read their minds to figure out how to communicate with them, Reese had just up and spoke to one of the children in the tiny village, speaking the people's native tongue, with no prior knowledge whatsoever that this tribe or village had ever even existed.

Afterward, Nightwing had talked to Reese about it, and she had said that it had been happening more and more frequently since the two of them had gotten back from CADMUS. When the Team had gotten back from their mission, he and Reese had done some digging, and Dick had pulled out every foreign language book that Bruce owned. All in all, it totaled almost fifty volumes. In the span of a day-and-a-half, Reese was fluent in every single one of them.

Needless to say, that had been very useful, and fun when Dick had Reese try out foreign swear words. Of course, though Bruce wasn't omnilingual himself, he still knew multiple languages and did  _not_ appreciate the sudden swearing that was filtering throughout Wayne Manor. Alfred, even more so. So, Dick just swore in Romanian when nobody else, save Reese or the Team, was around.

"Use sign language," Bruce said simply, before he and Diana walked down the hallway, leaving Dick alone. He hesitated for a second more before Dick tapped the keypad on the wall that would open the door.

Reese was facing away from him when Dick walked in, staring out a nearby window into the dark expanses of outer space, but she must have seen his reflection in the glass because Reese turned around as Nightwing walked towards her, and gave Dick a small smile.

"Hey," she said, and her voice was surprisingly quiet. Dick walked over until he was standing next to the hospital bed where Reese was sitting, then he sat down next to her. Dick blamed himself for Reese's deafness. He should never have left Reese and Lauren outside the Hall. If they had been allowed into the meeting, they never would've been buried under that marble. Reese wouldn't be without her hearing right now, she'd be perfectly fine. This was all his fault.

"Bluebird," Dick looked up when Reese spoke, and the girl cupped one hand around Nightwing's cheek. "You can't blame yourself for this. I should've heard the bomb timer sooner. Then maybe I would've been able to get Lauren farther away," Dick was shocked to see tears glistening in Reese's dark brown eyes, and he quickly wiped them away with his gloved fingers, leaning his forehead against Reese's.

" _Never_ say that something like this is your fault, pasăre frumoasă," he said quietly. He _was_ aware that "pretty bird" was Sporelli's pet name for "Celeste", and he wasn't exactly hung up on using it, but he thought it sounded better in Romanian anyway. Hopefully, even though she couldn't hear him, Reese would appreciate the sentiment. After a few minutes of silence, Dick got an idea. Reese's seventeenth birthday was still in a few days, and Dick wanted to give her her  _actual_ present then, but Dick had also wanted to show Reese something for a while, since before he'd left for Nepal.

Standing up, Nightwing turned around and held a hand out to the girl, while Reese just stared at it skeptically. After a couple seconds, she placed her hand in his, and Dick pulled Reese to her feet. Without saying anything, because he wasn't even entirely sure what  _to_ say, Nightwing pulled Reese out of the infirmary and out into the main room of the Watchtower. Dick glanced around for a minute and sighed in relief when he saw that Batman and Wonder Woman weren't there.

Dragging Reese over to the Zeta tubes, Dick typed in coordinates he wanted before stepping inside, pulling Reese behind him.

**Recognized Nightwing B01, Silver X B10**

As the two of them stepped out into a thick forest, Dick realized that they should probably change Reese's designation. If, and  _when_ , her powers fully disappeared, Reese would need a new moniker. If she wanted to continue being a hero, that is.

Dick led Reese down the heavily forested path, weaving in and around different tree trunks and stepping lightly over protruding tree roots. When they were maybe three-fourths of the way to their destination, Dick smirked, and covered Reese's eyes with one hand, causing the girl to let out a surprised squeak.

"Dick!" Reese cried. "I already can't hear! I don't need to be blind too," Dick stopped and, with his other hand, wrapped his fingers around Reese's wrists, bringing her hands up until they were in front of his face.

"Use your other senses, Rhysalin," he whispered, his lips feathering over Reese's palms. Over her shoulder, Dick caught sight of a massive oak tree and the ladder of worn wooden boards that were nailed haphazardly to the trunk.

When they reached the base of the tree, Dick removed his hand from in front Reese's eyes and smiled softly as he watched Reese stare up into the canopy with awe. One time, before he had left for Nepal to go find Reese, Nightwing and the rest of the Team had been on a mission, and during a thunderstorm, Dick had been separated from the others. He had wandered around this forest, for maybe forty-five minutes, before he found this oak tree and the treehouse that was at its top.

Since then, whenever he needed time to think, Dick had come here, to the middle of absolute nowhere. It was actually somewhere in the Wayne(ironic) National Forest in Ohio, though how exactly someone found the means and opportunity to build a freakin'  _treehouse_ out here, Dick'll never know. But, he thought it would get Reese's mind off her hearing loss for the time being, so here they were.

Nightwing stuck his head up through the hole in the treehouse's floor that acted as its door, then extended a hand back down the trunk to pull Reese up. The treehouse was in surprisingly clean condition, the only thing that had a bit of dust was the windowsills, but those were easily swept away.

"Dick, what is this place?" Reese sounded a bit awed, and Dick didn't blame her. He thought the treehouse was pretty sweet himself. Dick spotted a notepad laying in the corner, next to a box of pencils. How they had gotten there, Nightwing had no idea. Frankly, he thought it was a bit suspicious.

Leaving Reese's side, Dick went over to one of the two windows cut out of the side of the treehouse and peered outside. He didn't know if Kong and Fan had found out about the treehouse and set a trap for him and Reese, but in the immediate vicinity of the oak tree where they were, Dick couldn't see anything. The forest was quiet, save for the birdsong and normal forest sounds, but he could never be too careful.

Reese must've noticed his worried face because she came over to Dick and turned him around until she was looking straight into his eyes. Dick didn't want to worry Reese more than she already was, but he had a bad feeling about this.

"Bluebird, I may not be able to hear, but I know when something's bothering you. Please," Reese whispered. "talk to me," Dick sighed, and, seeing no other choice, he went over to where the notepad and paper were sitting, and picked them up, only to almost get shot in the face with a bolt from the tiny crossbow that had been hidden in the paper.

Dick jumped back and tackled Reese to the ground as the crossbow fired, and the bolt lodged in the wood, right next to where Reese's head had been only mere seconds before. Breathing hard, Nightwing glanced over his shoulder at the crossbow, where it now stood, stock-still, before turning back to Reese. When he had tackled her, Dick had wrapped his arms around Reese's waist, and now he hovered over her, his hands braced on either side of her shoulders.

"You okay?" he asked, making sure to enunciate so Reese would be able to read his lips. The girl gave a shaky nod, her eyes wide, and Dick sighed in relief. Well, there goes his stress-reliever. Kong and Fan must have somehow found out about the treehouse, then, before Dick and Reese had arrived, they must have planted the crossbow, putting it on a pressure lever or something, so when the paper placed above it was moved, the crossbow would fire a single bolt, and the assassins were probably hoping either Dick or Reese had been standing in the line of fire.

Only Nightwing's lightning-fast reflexes had saved the day. Dick turned back to Reese to see her staring at him. It had happened again. Reese had almost been killed by someone who kept holding a grudge against her. What if, next time, because there sure as hell  _would_ be the next time, they succeeded? What if one of Reese's adversaries finally succeeded in killing her? Dick couldn't let that happen. He  _wouldn't_.

Then, as if to make sure that she really was okay, Dick pressed a searing kiss to Reese's lips, which the girl immediately reciprocated. They separated for a split-second, before Dick's mouth was covering Reese's again. When they had gotten here, Dick wasn't planning on turning Reese's surprise into a make-out session, but he certainly wasn't complaining.

Suddenly, Reese shot up, and Dick leaned back, just in time for Reese to straddle his lap, still kissing him. Dick felt that if he stopped, this would all be a dream, and Reese wouldn't be here right now. So, when Reese ran her tongue along Dick's bottom lip, asking for entrance, Nightwing let her in without argument, though when their tongues began a heated battle for dominance, Dick had no intention of letting Reese win.

Dick leaned down and hovered over Reese again, while his girlfriend's back was pressed against the wooden treehouse floor. Detaching his lips from Reese's, Dick trailed his mouth up against the side of her jaw to the bottom of her ear, before retracing his path and going up the other side of her face. Reese was trailing her fingers against Dick's back, and Nightwing abruptly shivered when one of Reese's fingers brushed against the nape of his neck.

Then, to his shock, Reese leaned around and pressed her lips to that same spot, and Dick sucked in a strangled breath as Reese began to feather her lips along his neck. Flipping around, Dick pressed Reese against the wall and kissed her until he ran out of breath. Leaning back, Dick gazed at Reese with a soft smile on his face.

"I love you," he whispered. "So much," Reese ducked her head and pressed her lips to Dick's in a soft kiss, different than the ones they'd shared before.

"I love you too," she whispered once they had separated, and Dick's head shot up to meet Reese's eyes. When he stared at her, Reese shook her head. "I read your lips, Bluebird," she said quietly, before giving Dick a small smile. "And I'll always know when you say you love me. Be it with hearing loss or not, trust me, I'll know," before Dick could say anything in response to that, his phone buzzed, and Dick dug it out of a hidden pocket in his suit. Bruce was calling. What did he want now?

"Hello?" Dick asked, albeit a little harsher than he intended, but he didn't really care.

"Am I interrupting something?" Batman's gruff voice asked, and Dick rolled his eyes, even though Bruce couldn't see him.

"No," he said simply. _Yes, Bruce, you are interrupting something, but by all means, tell me what you want to say_, Dick thought before he tuned back into what Bruce was saying.

"I may have discovered a way to get Reese's hearing back," Dick froze, his eyes widening. Reese gave him a quizzical look, but Dick ignored her.

"What do you mean?" Nightwing burst out. "How?" Dick heard Bruce sigh before he spoke, and when he did Dick's gut clenched.

"We're going to recreate the explosion that took Reese's hearing away in the first place,"

**Batcave; March 4th, 23:00 EST**

"Do you have  _any_ idea how dangerous this could be?" Dick burst out as soon as he and Reese had entered the Batcave through Batman's own personal Zeta tube. Bruce was standing next to a folding table and on it were the various components that Dick figured would be used to recreate the explosion. The sound from the explosion, that is. 

"Dick, if we want to get Reese's hearing back, we have to try," Bruce said solemnly, and Dick had to admit, he had a point. A very  _stupid_ point, but a point nonetheless. Nightwing sighed heavily before he looked up at Bruce and gave a single nod.

"Fine," he grumbled. "But know that I'm blaming you if anything goes wrong," Bruce turned back to the table and started putting certain components together. After a few minutes, Dick felt a slender hand on his arm and he turned to see Reese standing behind him, a concerned and mildly frightened look on her face.

"Bluebird, what's going on?" Nightwing glanced back towards Bruce once before gently leading Reese to the other side of the Batcave. He picked up a notebook and pencil, this one  _without_ the hidden crossbow underneath, and wrote a quick note.

 **' We're getting your hearing back' **   

Reese's eyes shot up to meet Dick's when she had finished reading it, and Nightwing gave her a small smile. He didn't know how well this "explosion" was going to go, but Nightwing had a feeling that something was about to go very,  _very_ wrong.

"It's ready," Bruce's voice jerked Dick from his thoughts, and Nightwing turned to find the device, whatever it was, sitting totally put-together on the folding table. Dick sighed and kissed Reese one more time before he and Batman went to stand behind a wall of protective Plexiglass, leaving Reese in the line of fire of whatever this device that Bruce had made did.

Dick took a deep breath, before turning to Batman, his eyes cold and determined.

"Do it," he said, and Bruce pressed the detonator, only for the device to explode with a very loud 'bang' and the wall of Plexiglass shattered under the frequency. Dick's ears were ringing, but he still had his hearing, and looking up, Nightwing's blood froze when he saw Reese's body lying limp on the Batcave's stone floor.

"No!" Dick cried, picking himself up and running to Reese's side and pressed two fingers to the side of her neck. Nightwing breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a pulse. Picking Reese up, bridal-style, Dick turned around to face Bruce, and glared at him. "If she dies from this," Dick growled, his heart thumping. "I'm blaming you," Bruce didn't answer, and Dick carried Reese over to the stairs that would lead up into the manor.

Luckily, no one else who  _didn't_ know about the Wayne family's nightly activities was in the Manor, so it was empty and not really a surprise to see Nightwing, in full costume walking through the halls.

Dick carried Reese upstairs to her bedroom, bypassing the kitchen, where Alfred would no doubt be in a few hours and both Lauren and Jason's bedrooms, where the two pre-teens were sleeping soundly after Alfred had picked them up from their "babysitting" by the rest of the Team.

Nightwing lay Reese gently on her comforter, then pulled off his mask and slammed his fist against the side of Reese's bookcase, making the furniture tremble. He knew this was going to happen, and he didn't stop Bruce from pushing this detonator.

If Dick had  _known_ what was going to happen, he'd never have allowed Batman to pull off his stupid idea in the first place. Now, Reese was unconscious, again, for who knows how long, and Dick wasn't even sure her hearing would come back when she woke up. She could be deaf permanently now.

Dick sighed and ran a hand over his face as he watched Reese's chest rise and fall slowly as she breathed, her face covered in small scratches from when the Plexiglass wall had exploded, littering the Batcave floor with microscopic shards of the material.

Nightwing hoped with everything inside him that Reese would wake up, and soon, because if she didn't, and she actually  _died_ from Bruce's sick idea to get her hearing back, Dick would lose it, and go after the two Shadows responsible for making her lose her hearing in the first place. Jiu-Lang Kong, and Hai Fan. If Reese died from this, a sort of by-product of their plan to gain revenge on her, they would end up being hunted by a very angry, very vengeful bird.

**Wayne Manor; March 6th, 11:30 EST**

Two days. That was how long Reese had been unconscious. Two days since the disastrous attempt to restore Reese's hearing. Two days since Dick had come out of Reese's bedroom, content to stay by her side and wait for when she would wake up.

Two days since Nightwing had talked to anyone. Two days since he had eaten anything. Two days since he had seen Bruce, though that didn't really matter. It was Bruce's fault that Reese was unconscious anyway. If he hadn't gotten that idea to  _recreate_ that Hall of Justice explosion, none of this would have happened. He should've just let Reese's hearing come back naturally. Now, they weren't even sure if she was going to  _wake up_ , and even if she did, she may be deaf permanently.

A knock on the door snapped Dick from his thoughts, and he tensed. Almost everyone had been in to see them over the past forty-eight hours. But, now Jason and Lauren were at school, and Alfred and Bruce had left a few hours ago for some sort of meeting at Wayne Enterprises. That left one person. Or two people depending.

"What do you want, Wally?" Dick growled, not really wanting to see Kid Flash right now, or anyone for that matter. He heard Wally take a few steps inside, but Dick quickly snapped his fingers and KF backed up to stand just inside the hallway.

"Dick, you need to eat. Have you ever  _left_ this room since Bruce tried his idea?" Dick sighed and shook his head. Truthfully, he was starving and both physically and mentally exhausted. After a few seconds, Dick glanced over his shoulder at Wally and gave Kid Flash a small smile.

"Sorry, Wall-man," he said quietly. "I guess I've been a bit...preoccupied," he turned back to look down at Reese's unconscious form, and Dick heard Wally come up behind him and set a firm hand on his shoulder.

"She's going to wake up, Dick," Wally said quietly, and Dick sighed.

"But what if she doesn't?" Dick's voice was barely more than a whisper, and the thought of Reese never waking up chilled him to the core. "KF, what if Reese  _dies_?" Wally clamped both of his hands on Nightwing's shoulders and spun him around until he was looking Dick dead-in-the-eye.

"She  _will_ wake up," he said firmly, before shrugging his shoulders and stepping back. "And if she doesn't, I'll go with you personally to kill Kong and Fan," Dick gave a short laugh and shook his head.

"Thanks, Wally," he said, giving the ginger speedster the first genuine smile he'd given anyone in two days. "I appreciate it," Wally chuckled.

"Hey," he said jokingly. "It's what I do. Now," Wally clapped his hands and rubbed them together as if he was some sort of mastermind. "I know for a fact that Alfred made a whole platter of sandwiches in the kitchen, so what do you say we get something to eat? You obviously need it," Dick bit his lip and glanced back at Reese. He wasn't sure. What if Reese woke up while they were downstairs, and was permanently deaf?

"Sure," he said after a few minutes of thought. "You go on ahead though. I'll be down in a few minutes," Wally gave a solid nod before he turned around and walked downstairs, leaving Reese and Dick alone in Reese's bedroom.

Nightwing turned to the girl and sat down heavily on the edge of the bed, weaving his own fingers securely through Reese's limp ones. 

"I know you probably can't hear me," he whispered. "but I want you to know that it wasn't your fault, what happened at the Hall of Justice. It was the Shadows, Kong and Fan. Apparently, when you were in Nepal, you stopped an operation that they were doing for Ra's al Ghul, and now they're coming after you. Revenge, probably. It is in no way your fault Rhysalin. It's theirs, for not being able to take defeat," Dick leaned down and pressed his lips in a soft kiss against Reese's forehead.

"I also want you to know that no matter what happens if you're still deaf when you wake up, or if you're by some ridiculous miracle okay, I will  _always_ love you. Nothing will ever change that," Dick stood up from his spot on the bed, hand still intertwined with Reese's, and looked down at the girl he loved with a soft smile.

Then, just as Dick was about to leave to go downstairs and meet Wally, he could've sworn he felt Reese's fingers twitch. Nightwing froze and turned slowly back around to face Reese. He squeezed Reese's hand in his own, and he almost had a heart attack when Reese squeezed back. Dick bolted over to Reese's side just as she blinked her eyes open.

"I love you too, Bluebird,"

Reese 

At first, everything was silent. A deep, stifling quiet that overcame every one of Reese's senses. The last thing she remembered was being in the Batcave with Dick and Bruce, then another explosion and everything had gone black.

At first, everything was silent. Then, sound, pure, glorious  _sound_ filtered into Reese's now-healed eardrums, and the first thing she heard was Nightwing's voice, sounding absolutely  _exhausted_.

"I know you probably can't hear me..." as he told Reese everything that had happened, how the two Shadows had been the ones to set the bomb by the Hall of Justice, Reese was moving ever closer to being fully awake. Then, Dick said the magic words. "No matter what happens, I'll still love you. Nothing will ever change that," Dick squeezed Reese's hand, and Reese tried to focus all her remaining energy on squeezing back.

When she felt Nightwing's fingers freeze from where they had been slipping out of her own, Reese knew she had succeeded. It was difficult, but Reese managed to pry her eyes open, only to be met with Dick Grayson's emotion-filled cerulean orbs staring into her own.

"I love you too, Bluebird," Reese said, her voice hoarse as if she hadn't used it in a while. How long had she been unconscious? Judging from Dick's haggard state of appearance, Reese could figure it was at  _least_ a couple of days. Wait, a couple of days? Did that mean she had been unconscious past her birthday?

"Reese?" Dick's voice jerked Reese from her thoughts, and she sat up wearily, rubbing her head at the sudden burst of pain that shot through her temporal lobe. Then, when Reese brought her hand away, sound burst in from every direction, and much like the stifling silence that had been there when Reese had lost her hearing, the sound came in her ears too fast for Reese's brain to process, and it overloaded her senses again.

She could hear  _everything_. Wally chewing on a sandwich down in the kitchen, his rapid heartbeat, beating at a normal speedster rate. Dick's own heartbeat, that was quickly getting faster, as he started to worry about what was happening to Reese.

"Reese? Argent, what's wrong?" all Reese could manage to get out of her mouth was a small whimper, as sound waves continued to pummel her head from every which way. Reese threw herself back onto her blue-and-silver comforter, arching her back in agony. There was too much noise, it needed to  _stop_. Suddenly, Dick's mouth covered Reese's, and, as he kissed her, the fog and pain that was enveloping Reese's head went away, and her mind cleared, enough for her to kiss Nightwing back with a renewed fervor.

After a few seconds, Dick leaned back with a gasp and stared down at Reese. When he had kissed her, Nightwing had pinned Reese's wrists to her bed, to hold her in place, Reese guessed, since she had been thrashing around, and now Dick hovered over her, his muscled chest heaving as he took deep breaths.

"You okay?" Nightwing asked quietly after a few seconds and Reese gave a shaky nod.

"I'm fine Bluebird, really," she said, and Dick climbed off her, before extending a hand to help Reese stand. After she was steady on her feet, Reese turned to Dick. "How long was I out?" she asked, and Nightwing flinched.

"Two days," his voice was barely more than an expelled breath, but with her super-hearing, Reese was able to catch it. Her eyes snapped up to stare at Dick as they made their way downstairs, where Wally was waiting for them.

"Two days?" she echoed, and Nightwing glanced at her from the corner of his eye when they reached the kitchen.

"Happy birthday, Rhysalin," There was the sudden sound of something fragile crashing to the floor and both Dick and Reese looked up to find Kid Flash staring at them, a broken glass next to his feet.

"Wally?" Reese asked, and suddenly her ears were bombarded with Wally's shouts. Not as loud as the overload she'd gotten when she'd first woken up, but still a bit too loud.

"Reese! Thank! God! You're! Okay!" Dick pushed himself in between them and held a hand against KF's chest.

"Dude, she can hear you," Nightwing said, at the normal volume for speaking. Wally's eyes widened and his eyes snapped towards Reese, who just waved her fingers at him. After about twenty minutes of telling Wally everything that had happened, KF abruptly stood up and rubbed his hands together.

"You know, since Reese is awake now, why don't the three of us go down to Mount Justice? Tell the Team you're okay?" Dick spoke before Wally's words were barely out of his mouth.

"No," The three of them were eating some of the sandwiches that Alfred had made before he and Bruce had left for Wayne Enterprises, and Nightwing had already practically inhaled four. Reese had a feeling that Dick hadn't eaten a thing when she'd been unconscious.

"But-" Dick cut Kid Flash off again.

" _No_ ," But, Wally just gave Nightwing a look and the two of them were having some sort of weird staring contest for a couple minutes before, to Reese's shock, Dick finally clenched his eyes shut and looked away. 

"Fine," he growled before Dick stood up and clamped his hand around Wally's arm. "I need to talk to you," Dick dragged Wally down the hallway and into an empty sitting room, slamming the door after them. Not entirely sure if she should risk it or not, Reese strained her hearing, trying to listen to what Dick and Wally were saying.

"Why don't you want us to go to the cave?" that was Wally, and he sounded genuinely confused, to which Reese could relate.

"KF, Reese  _just_ woke up. Do you think she needs more surprises? And with her hearing overloading, as it did, I don't want to risk her getting hurt." This time it was Dick, and the way he sounded so worried about her made Reese's face flush. But, what did he mean by "more surprises"?

"Dick, what if tell them to just yell really,  _really_ quietly? Would that be _sufficient_?" Reese didn't miss the sarcasm that was in Wally's voice, and neither, it seemed, did Nightwing, judging from the silence that followed Wally's words, Reese guessed that Dick was probably leveling a Batglare KF's way. After a few seconds though, Dick relented.

"Fine. You go on ahead, tell the Team what's going on," Then, Wally and Dick walked out of the sitting room, and Reese retracted her hearing so it was back in its normal range. As Nightwing and Kid Flash made their way back to the kitchen island, Reese raised an eyebrow at them, trying to pretend she hadn't just heard their entire conversation.

"What did you talk to him about?" she asked Dick and both Nightwing and Wally answered simultaneously.

"Nothing!" Reese's eyebrow went higher, and she could see Wally begin to squirm, but before she could say anything about it Dick had grabbed Wally's arm again and dragged him away, though this time it was to the front door.

"Thank you!" Dick cried sarcastically as he practically pushed Wally out the door. "See you later!" As soon as the door had shut behind the Flash's teenage protégé, Dick slid down to the ground, his back against the door. "God, I thought he'd never leave," Reese giggled and shook her head fondly.

"Dick," she said teasingly, and Nightwing looked up at her with a smirk.

"What? Now I got you all to myself," Reese rolled her eyes, trying not to show Nightwing exactly how much his flirts still got to her, even though they'd been dating for more than two months already. Dick pulled himself up and walked towards her, but before he kissed her, Reese held up a hand, and Nightwing's lips landed on her palm. When he looked at her, Reese snapped her fingers and pointed upstairs.

"Dick, take a shower. Now," Dick rolled his eyes teasingly, but complied, but not before he stopped halfway up the stairs and looked down at her.

"Only if you take it with me," he quipped, and Reese made her way up to the stairs to a step two below from Dick. She looked up at him, and the smirk that was on Nightwing's face made goosebumps spring on Reese's skin.

" _Go_ ," she said, placing her hand in the middle of Dick's back and pushing him up the stairs towards his bathroom. "I'll still be here when you get out,"

As she waited for Dick to be finished with his shower, Reese made her way into Wayne Manor's library, where she and Dick had figured out Reese was omnilingual after the mission in the Amazon. She grabbed a random book off the shelf and sat in a plush armchair next to the fireplace.

Reese didn't know how long she sat there in the library, fully engrossed in the story she was reading, though it was probably only fifteen minutes at most. That's why, even though she was still aware of her surroundings, it surprised her so much when she felt a pair of lips press themselves against the side of her neck.

"I hope I didn't scare you too much," he whispered, and Reese shook her head as she felt water droplets drip off of Dick's jet-black hair onto her shoulder.

"Bluebird, your hair's still wet," Reese said quietly, and she heard Dick chuckle.

"Sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "Who knew the champion swimmer of Keystone's Kindergarten Back Stroke would be scared of a little water?" Reese's head snapped up.

"How do you know about that?" she asked. As far as she knew, Reese had never told anyone that she had used to be a swimmer. Lauren didn't even know, she had only just been born. Dick's head was upside down as Reese leaned her head over the back of the armchair, and he smirked.

"Because I'm Nightwing," he said, before pressing his lips to Reese's. It was like a Spider-man kiss since Dick's head was upside down and he was leaning over the back of the chair that Reese was sitting in. When they separated, Reese gave Dick a soft smile.

"Did you just parody Bruce's line?" she asked, and Dick shrugged nonchalantly.

"Maybe," he kissed her again, and Reese wove her fingers through his hair, but suddenly Reese heard a noise, which didn't make any sense, considering her and Dick were the only two people at the Manor. If she hadn't had super-hearing Reese wasn't sure she would have caught it. As it were, it wasn't even that _significant_  a noise, only the soft creaking of a floorboard, as if someone were to shift their foot. Reese listened harder, but everything was silent.

"Dick," she whispered against Nightwing's lips. "I think I heard something," She felt Dick pause and he detached himself from Reese and stood up. Reese set her book down and stood up herself.

"What did you hear?" Dick asked, almost whispering, and Reese shrugged.

"Now I'm not so sure," she said truthfully. "I thought I heard a floorboard creak, like when someone's walking on it, but the only people here are me and you, and the library floor is carpeted," Dick's face hardened, and he stood up to walk over to a random bookshelf.

He pulled on the spine of a book, and the shelf opened up almost silently, revealing a whole arsenal of different weapons that the Batfamily used, except for guns, of course. Dick grabbed a pair of eskrima sticks, then grabbed a small cylinder from the other side. Grabbing a quiver of sharpened arrows, Dick handed both the quiver and cylinder to Reese, who just looked at the cylinder skeptically.

"What is this?" Dick smirked again, then reached over and pressed a small button on the side. The cylinder unfolded from itself into a silver-and-black double-stringed recurve bow, the metallic limbs gleaming. The grip was black leather, with an indent that seemed like it was customed to fit Reese's hand.

"Dick, how did..." she trailed off and looked up to find Nightwing smiling down at her.

"Happy Birthday, Reese," he said quietly, and Reese was once again pleasantly surprised by how Dick Grayson knew about her more obscure hobbies, the ones she didn't tell anyone about. One of them was archery. She'd gone to an archery camp a few summers ago in Yellowstone and had gotten instantly hooked on the sport. When she'd gotten back to Keystone, Reese's parents had enrolled her in private lessons. Ironically, they were from Oliver Queen. That was how Reese figured out Green Arrow's identity.

Suddenly, there was the very prominent sound of a creaking floorboard and Dick's head snapped up.

"Okay," he whispered, tightening his hold on his eskrima sticks. "This time I heard that," the both of them turned, and Reese pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back and nocked it in her bow, pointing it towards the library door. Dick made his way to stand between the door and wall, ready to jump out should anyone come in that wasn't supposed to, who at this moment, included no one, since everyone else was busy doing their own thing,  _outside_ the Manor.

The footsteps came closer, and a semi-tall, slender figure turned the corner into the library. Reese relaxed her posture when she recognized them. 

"God, Artemis, you couldn't have told us you were coming?" Strangely, the blonde archer's face was pale, and her teeth were clenched. Since Reese and Dick had gotten back from Nanda Parbat, Reese and Artemis had formed quite a strong friendship, and Reese now considered her one of her best friends.

Artemis kept murmuring something under her breath, and even Reese had to strain her super-hearing in order to understand it.

"Shadow...behind... _you_ ," Reese's eyes widened, and Dick leaped out of his hiding place, throwing one of the eskrima sticks at the massive two-story glass window behind Reese, where the now-seventeen-year-old girl noticed one of the Shadows, Hai Fan, was hanging on a rappelling line, a crossbow with a scoping laser pointed straight at Reese's forehead.

Dick 

"Both of you get down!" Dick barked when his eskrima shattered the window as soon as Fan had fired the crossbow. Reese and Artemis hit the deck, and Dick vaulted off the back of an armchair before launching himself at Fan. The bolt from Fan's crossbow had been destroyed when Dick's eskrima stick smashed the window, and Fan was rapidly trying to reload.

Dick didn't give him a chance. Nightwing smashed through the window and grabbed the crossbow from Fan's hands and threw it to the ground, where it shattered into tiny pieces. Fan then whipped out a blade that was no doubt coated in jellyfish toxin and swiped it at Dick's face, but Nightwing leaned back, and the blade missed him by little more than an inch. This entire time Dick was hanging by one hand to Fan's rappelling line, and now the Shadow's eyes flicked to Dick's fist.

Before he could try and loosen Nightwing's grip, there was the sound of a car engine, and Dick breathed a mental sigh of relief. As soon as Fan would've made his way onto the Manor's grounds, the security system would've sent out an alert to Bruce at Wayne Enterprises. Even if he disabled the main Manor's security, the Batcave's was at least a hundred times better and would send out a new alert every forty-five seconds until the intruder was caught.

"Why are you here?" Dick growled towards Fan, and the Shadow smirked.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked. "I'm here for Rhysalin. She deserves to die," Dick narrowed his eyes and slipped a batarang from his pocket. Don't ask why he had it. Knowing nothing of Dick's intentions, Fan continued his rant, the toxin-coated blade forgotten, for which Dick was grateful.

"It started when Kong and I were on a mission for Ra's al Ghul. Interrogate this Romanian gypsy on the outskirts of Kathmandu. If she wouldn't come with us back to base willingly, we were supposed to use force. Your girlfriend though was already there. It should have just been an easy mission. In and out, no casualties. Your little girlfriend down there ruined it. We were forced to take action. I almost killed her then, you know?" Dick's blood froze, but he wasn't able to get a word in, because Fan kept talking. 

Over his shoulder, Dick caught sight of Bruce and Alfred, but he quickly gestured at them. This could be one of his only chances to get the full story on why Kong and Fan were hunting Reese down.

"I had pushed her to the edge of a cliff-face," Fan was saying, and Dick turned back in. "The gypsy. Then, your girlfriend had to step in and ruined things. She turned into this massive tiger and roared. Somehow, the soundwave didn't hit our target but instead hit me. I fell, and cut my shoulder on the rocks." He pulled down the collar of his shirt and showed Dick a ragged scar, that was inflamed and red. "Your girlfriend did this to me. And now, I'm going to do it to you," the toxin blade was suddenly flying towards Dick's throat and without a second thought, Nightwing brought up the razor-sharp batarang and it slid effortlessly into Hai Fan's chest, puncturing his heart with ease.

Originally, Dick had only been planning to cut the rappelling line, then swing himself across to the windowsill. But, things change, and now there was a dead assassin from the League of Shadows directly across from him, swinging limply on the line.

Suddenly, there was a whooshing sound, and an arrow lodged itself in the exterior wall of the Manor. Dick looked down to find Reese standing on the grass with her new bow, a worried look on her face. A grappling line shot out of the arrow's shaft next, and Dick grabbed onto it, before slicing through the rappelling line with Fan's blade and dropping to the ground.

As soon as Dick and Fan were on the ground, Reese rushed over.

"Are you okay?" she burst out, cupping Dick's face with her hands. "What happened?" Dick wrapped his fingers around Reese's wrist and leaned into her touch, but froze when he realized his hands were coated in a dark, sticky red substance. Blood. Fan's blood.

Dick had just killed someone. He'd broken the  _one_ rule that Batman told them to never even  _fantasize_ about breaking.

And he hadn't even  _cared_.

What had he _done_?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Nightwing and Batman are trying to get Reese's hearing back, the situation actually comes from the Flash. I think it was season 2 when Barry loses his speed and Harry decides to recreate the particle accelerator explosion to give it back, but then Barry ends up in the speed force and it's all sorts of insane. I obviously changed some things, because of 1.) Reese isn't a speedster, and 2.)This isn't the Flash
> 
> Reese and I actually share the same birthday, so that's nice.


	12. Chapter 11...Drugged Amusement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick faces the mental and emotional repercussions from Fan's death, and the Team celebrates Reese's seventeenth birthday. After, Dick takes Reese out on a date, but when she gets drugged by Jiu-Lang Kong, the other Shadow, Nightwing must intervene, and try to refrain from killing him as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOO sorry it took me forever to get this chapter up, I've been super busy with school and a bout of writers' block, but hopefully, it has passed and I will go back to regular updates...maybe. That also may be why the beginning of this chapter seems a bit choppy and all over the place.
> 
> Also a bit of foreshadowing in this, I won't spoil it, obviously, but...oh you guys are going to both LOVE and HATE me in the third book.

**Wayne Manor; March 6th, 13:00 EST**

Dick 

He'd killed someone.

Broken the _one_ rule Batman told them to never even _fantasize_ about breaking.

And he hadn't even _cared._

Dick stood, stricken, on the front lawn of Wayne Manor, the dead body of Hai Fan laying limp just beside him, a razor-sharp batarang jutting out of his chest. It had been spur of the moment, purely self-defense, but it hadn't changed what happened. A man was dead, because of _him_ , and Nightwing hadn't even given the thought of killing _a_ second thought. He'd just done it.

Was it adrenaline? The instinctual drive to survive, even if it cost someone else their life? Or something else? Something darker, that had been hidden inside Dick's hidden self for his entire life, until the day came where he needed to utilize it?

A slender hand placed itself on Dick's cheek, and he drew himself from his thoughts to find Reese gazing at him, her dark brown eyes filled with worry. Nightwing leaned into his girlfriend's touch, and after a moment Reese gave a small smile. Then, Bruce walked up, his face a thunderhead of rage.

"What. _Happened_?" he growled, and Dick stepped back from Reese, heaving a shaky breath.

"Reese and I were in the library," he began. "I gave Reese her birthday present, the recurve bow, and after a few seconds Artemis came in, and said that there was a Shadow behind Reese," Dick clenched his eyes shut as he remembered the way Fan had his crossbow pointed directly between Reese's eyes, and if Nightwing hadn't destroyed the bolt by throwing his eskrima stick through the window, she would've been killed.

"I didn't want Reese or Artemis to get hurt, so I faced Fan by myself," Dick didn't tell Bruce how the Shadow had told him that Reese had been the one who had scarred him, and how that was the _real_ reason Kong and Fan had gone after her in the first place.

"And the batarang?" Bruce asked, and Dick flinched.

"Originally, I  was just planning on cutting his rappelling line. If he had fallen, he'd have broken a few bones, sure, but he'd still be alive. Then, he tried to stab me with his blade, and..." Dick trailed off for a moment before he shot his eyes up to Bruce. "It was an accident, I swear!" But, Bruce only gave Nightwing a cold stare before he walked back into the Manor, no doubt to call GCPD and tell them what happened.

Though how he was going to do that without saying that Dick, who was Nightwing, had used a batarang, one of Batman's primary gadgets, and protect everyone else's identity in the process, Dick had no idea, and frankly, right now he didn't care. After a few minutes, Dick heaved a breath and sat heavily down on the grass, head in his hands. What was he going to do? It was quite obvious that Bruce was pissed off, but what would happen? Nightwing had broken Bruce's one rule, and practically in front of him, no less! If Bruce didn't send Dick away he'd be surprised.

"Hey," a quiet voice said, and Dick looked up to find Reese standing in front of him, her eyes shining with worry. "Dick, it's not your fault," she sat down next to Nightwing on the grass and cupped his cheek with her hand, tilting Dick's face until he looked at her.

"Isn't it though?" he asked, almost at a whisper, and he jerked his head away from Reese's hand. Artemis had gone back inside with Bruce and Alfred and was doubt calling Wally to tell him what had happened. Great, another person who thought he was a murderer.

"No, Bluebird, it's not," he looked up again, to where Reese was gazing at him, and Dick was shocked to see tears in the corner of her eyes. "This is exactly the way I felt after I had killed Wilmer two years ago. I blamed myself, and I ran away because of it,"

"I know Argent," Dick said quietly, glancing at Reese from the corner of his eye. "I was there," Reese cracked a small smile, but her smile dropped just as fast, and her voice was serious when she spoke again.

"My point is, Dick," she set her forehead against Dick's and pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss. When she leaned back, the tears had begun to drip out of her eyes, and Dick swiped them away with his thumbs. "I didn't face the fact that I had killed someone, had ended their life, and instead I ran from it. You don't need to run away from this. Yes, Bruce is going to be mad at you for a while, but he'll get over it. And when he does," again, she kissed him, and this time Dick kissed her back. "I'll be here for you. We'll _all_ be here for you," Nightwing gave his girlfriend a small smile.

"Thanks, Rhysalin," he said, and Reese pulled him to his feet.

"Now come on," she said. "Let's get you washed up, and then you can talk to Bruce," they had been walking through the front foyer of the manor, but when Reese talked about Bruce, Dick dug his heels into the floor like a little kid, jerking Reese, who had been leading them, to a stop. "Dick, why'd you stop?"

"Because I don't want to talk to Bruce," he said simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole world, and to Dick it was. Breaking Bruce's rule pretty much cemented you in eternal shame. Though no one else would know, because no one else had broken the rule. Except for Reese of course. And now Dick.

"Bluebird, you're acting like a child," Reese chastised him, frowning. Dick plopped himself down on the floor, sitting criss-cross, and crossed his arms. It had shaken him up when he had seen Reese crying outside, and knowing that _he_ had been the cause of it. Now, no matter what was going on with Fan or Bruce, Dick vowed that he would cheer Reese up. Hence the seventeen-year-old man-child.

"I. Don't. Want to," he grumbled, sticking his bottom lip out in a pout. The corner of Reese's lip twitched, and Dick knew she was fighting a smile. Then, Reese hooked her elbows underneath Dick's upper arms and started _dragging_ him along the carpet.

"No kisses for you then," she said, making Dick scramble up from his spot on the floor, and stand to face Reese.

"No kisses?" he echoed, still pretending to be upset. "But  _why_?" Reese raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, but Dick could see that she was trying not to laugh or smile.

"Bluebird, you're acting like you're  _five_ ," she said as if she was speaking to a misbehaving toddler. Ah, the irony. "And I can't very well date a five-year-old, now can I?" Dick lowered his head so he was looking at the floor, and glanced up at Reese without moving his head, kind of like puppy eyes.

"I guess you can't date me then," he said quietly, still pretending to be upset, and smirked to himself when he saw Reese's face fall. She suddenly thudded into Dick's body, wrapping her arms around his waist and almost knocking him over as she whispered into his ear.

"Oh, Bluebird, you know that wasn't what I meant," Reese cooed, and Dick couldn't help but chuckle as he gently grabbed Reese's hands and pried her off of him. When Reese was a few inches away, Dick tilted his chin down so he was looking Reese in the eye.

"Rhysalin, calm down," he said, still snickering half to himself. "I was just joking," Dick flinched as he felt the back of Reese's hand hit his chest, but smirked again when he saw Reese's good-natured scowl. At least he had managed to cheer her up a bit. 

As they walked up to Wayne Manor's grandiose staircase, Dick bent down to whisper in Reese's ear.

"Does that mean I still don't get any kisses?" Reese glanced over her shoulder as they entered Dick's bedroom, and shrugged.

"It depends," she said quietly as Dick made his way into his bathroom to wash Fan's blood off of his hands. "Are you done acting like a child?" Nightwing didn't answer for several minutes, choosing instead to focus on the now-pinkish water that was running down the sink's drain. There was still dried blood caked around Dick's fingernails, and for a few moments, the last Grayson froze, staring down at his hands, watching as they began to tremble from the shock that was just now making its way into Nightwing's system.

Dick clenched his hands around the bathroom sink's counter and glanced up to meet the eyes of his reflection in the mirror. At first glance, he looked the same. Muscled figure from training with Batman for almost nine years. Tousled black hair that, no matter how much he tried to style it, always fell back in the same messy 'do. Then, Nightwing noticed his eyes. The cerulean orbs that had seen far too much pain, someone, his age should. The same eyes that Reese had said she could get lost in for hours on end. The same eyes that had watched as a batarang slid into an assassin's chest, killing him instantly.

A pair of slender arms wrapped themselves around Nightwing's waist, jerking Dick from his macabre thoughts, and he glanced over his shoulder to find Reese standing behind him, her face buried in the back of his shoulder.

"Self-defense," Reese whispered as Dick turned himself around so he and Reese were facing each other. "You killed Fan defending yourself. It was purely self-defense." Dick stepped back. 

"I can't stop thinking about it, Argent," he said quietly, turning back around to face the bathroom mirror. "I keep seeing his face. One minute, he was threatening to kill  _you_ , the next he's dead and swinging from his rappelling line," Dick heaved a shaky breath, and Reese moved so she was standing in front of Dick, her back pressed against the counter.

"Bluebird, listen to me," Reese's voice was quiet but firm, and it made Dick look down at her. "I felt the  _exact_ same way you do right now after I killed Wilmer two years ago. Then, I didn't have anybody to bring me out of that pit of despair and regret and  _anguish_ that I fell into after his death, but you?" she looked up at Nightwing, and Dick was surprised to find more tears glistening in Reese's dark brown eyes.

"You have all of  _us_ , Dick. Bruce, Alfred, Jason, the Team, Lauren,  _me_. We're all here for you," Dick wrapped his arms around Reese and tugged her close to him, burying his nose in the top of her head. Today was Reese's seventeenth birthday. It was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life, and Dick had ruined it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into Reese's hair, causing the girl to lean back and look up at him.

"Dick, what happened to Fan wasn't your fault. It could've been any of us," Dick shook his head.

"That wasn't what I meant, Argent," he whispered, and Reese raised an eyebrow.

"What did you mean then?" Dick cupped Reese's face with his hands and pressed his lips to hers for a split-second before leaning back and pressing his forehead against hers.

"I just feel like I ruined your birthday," he whispered again and was surprised when Reese started to laugh. With Dick's hands now clean, the two headed back into Nightwing's bedroom, where Dick sat heavily on his bed.

"Bluebird,  _no_ ," Reese placed a hand on Dick's cheek and tilted his head towards hers. Once again, for what seemed like the umpteenth time since he and Reese had started dating, Dick couldn't help but wonder just what exactly he had done to deserve the absolute most perfect girlfriend ever? "You didn't ruin my birthday. Yes, there have been some... _obstacles_ , but we'll get through them," She looped her arms around Dick's neck and gave a small smile that made Dick's spirits lift if only the tiniest bit.

"Did you really like the bow?" Dick asked quietly and breathed a mental sigh of relief when Reese nodded her head, biting her bottom lip. Truthfully, he'd been skeptical if Reese would like the archer gear or not when he had gone to Oliver a few months ago, right after the Fundraiser to be exact, and asked Green Arrow to make Reese the custom-made compound recurve bow for her birthday. Luckily, it seemed like the trip to Star City had been a success.

"I really did," Reese whispered. "Dick, you never cease to surprise me with the way you figure out the most obscure aspects of someone's personality or hobbies. Hell,  _Kaldur_ didn't even know about the archery or that I used to be a swimmer," Dick tilted his head quizzically. This was new information.

"Aqualad didn't know?" he asked, and Reese shook her head.

"It never came up. Now that I think about it, Kaldur and I only really became friends after he saved me four years ago. Then, we only hung out and talked about him being Aqualad. Not any of  _my_ hobbies, except for writing, of course," Dick hummed. Most people thought that Aquaman's apprentice was calm, modest, and respectful of everyone he met. That was such a lie. Sure, Kaldur had his moments, but if the facts of him putting Nightwing in a coma and causing Reese to  _run away_ , modest and humble were definitely  _not_ Kaldur'ahm's most valuable qualities.

A sudden thought shot into Dick's brain, and he suddenly remembered why he had sent Wally away and given Reese her birthday present at the Manor in the first place. As Dick sat up, Reese, whose legs had been entangled with his, lost her balance and would've fallen on the floor had Nightwing not wrapped an arm around her waist and held her in place.

"You okay?" Dick asked once Reese was steady and sighed in relief when she nodded. Dick stood up and walked over to his closet, where he took out a cardboard box that was blocking the back wall. Of  _course_ , he would forget why he and Reese needed to go to Mount Justice. And it would have to be  _on_ Reese's birthday, right after Dick had killed someone.

Holding a hand out to Reese, Dick pulled the girl up and started dragging her across his bedroom towards his closet, where there was a secret passageway down to the Batcave. Once they were both downstairs, Nightwing quickly typed in the coordinates for Mount Justice.

**Recognized Nightwing B01, Silver X B10**

Everything was dark when they walked in, and Dick quickly clapped his hands over Reese's ears. She had super-hearing sure, which was why he had covered her ears, but Dick wasn't sure if Reese's eyesight had been enhanced enough to show her the true proceedings of what was happening in the pitch-black cave. He hoped not, because he only had two hands.

"Bluebird, what's going on? You know it isn't really a good idea to cover up the ears of someone who has super hearing..." she trailed off, because suddenly the fluorescent lights that lit up the inside of Mount Justice flickered on, revealing the rest of the original Team, which consisted of Wally, Artemis, M'gann, Conner, and Kaldur. Along with Jason, Lauren, Bruce, Oliver, Dinah, and Diana.

" _Surprise_!" The cave was decorated with anything and everything you could and would think would be needed for a surprise birthday party. Dick felt a smile grow on his face when he saw how awed and happy Reese looked. It had been almost too much when Wally almost slipped up this morning when he'd been at the Manor. That was what he and Dick had been arguing about after Reese had woken up. Whether or not it would be a good idea for the Team to hold the party in the first place. Now, when he was seeing how joyful Reese seemed as everyone came over to wish her a "Happy Birthday", he was glad he had let Wally talk him into this.

A few minutes later, as everyone was making their way towards the kitchen, where M'gann had baked a massive cake, a hand clamped itself around Dick's bicep and tugged him down a side hallway. When they stopped, Dick found himself face-to-face with Black Canary, her face looking concerned. Nightwing sighed.

"I take it Bruce told you what happened?" he asked, and Dinah nodded. Dick noticed they were in the training room, and he plopped himself down onto a bench, setting his head in his hands. "I didn't mean to do it," he whispered, and subconsciously tensed his muscles when Dinah set a single hand on his shoulder and knelt down so she was facing him.

"You know Bruce doesn't think what happened to Hai Fan was your fault, right?" she asked, and Dick let out a disbelieving chuckle.

"I doubt it," he hissed. "You should've seen the look he gave me when he and Alfred got back from Wayne Enterprises after getting that alert. He looked at me like...like _I_ was a  _disappointment_ ," Dick's chest felt tight, and he realized there were hot, angry tears brimming in the corners of his eyes.

"Dick, he doesn't think that," Dinah was trying to comfort him, Dick knew that, but right now he didn't care.

"Yes, he _does_. He didn't look at Reese like that two years ago after she had killed Wilmer. Why am I so different?" Nightwing heard Dinah sigh, and he was suddenly tugged up, only to find a fist flying towards his face. Dick's hand flashed out and caught Black Canary's hand milliseconds before it would have slammed into his jaw, and undoubtedly knocked him unconscious. "What was that for?" he asked, a bit harsh, and Dinah dropped her hand before stepping back.

"You're angry and tired, and you need to let off some steam," Dick stared at her.

"You want me to train  _now_?" he asked skeptically, before glancing at the open doorway. "But what about Reese's party?" Dinah waved a hand dismissively.

"You can come back to the party once you've cooled off," she said, before turning around and walking towards the doorway, but not before glancing back over her shoulder. "And I'll know if you were slacking," she said, jabbing a finger in the direction of one of the security cameras that were mounted in each corner of the room. Dick glanced up at them, but when he looked back towards where Black Canary had been standing, Dinah was nowhere to be seen.

Dick sighed. He might as well get this over with quickly before he completely missed his girlfriend's own birthday party. Not to mention the cake Miss Martian had made looked absolutely  _delicious_. Much like Alfred though, no one, aside from Superboy when the Team had first been formed, really wanted to disobey Black Canary when she told you to do something.

**Mount Justice; March 6th, 17:30 EST**

Reese

It had been about two-and-a-half hours since her party had started, and Reese couldn't find Dick  _anywhere_. She'd looked through the entire cave,  _twice_ , including the room Nightwing used when he had to stay over, and Richard Grayson was nowhere to be seen. 

Reese knew for a fact that there was no way that Dick would flake on her birthday party, but she couldn't help but be worried. Where was he? Reese leaned against the wall of the cave's common/recreational room, pushing a piece of chocolate-frosted vanilla cake around on a small paper plate with a plastic fork. A voice from Reese's left jerked the girl from her thoughts, and she looked to the side to find Aqualad giving her a small smile.

"Don't really feel like celebrating?" he asked, and Reese couldn't help but notice how formal Kaldur's tone sounded. Sure, they had interacted on a few missions since the two of them had broken up before Christmas, but that was only to the bare minimum. Of course, Reese  _had_ been the one to say that Aqualad was no leader and that she wanted nothing to do with him, but right now she was feeling pretty awful about that.

Kaldur had been her best friend for four years, and she had just up and thrown everything they'd been through, practically every encounter with the Leech where Kaldur had saved her life, down the drain. In response to Aqualad's earlier question, Reese shook her head.

"Not really. I can't seem to find Dick anywhere..." Reese winced as she realized she basically almost-ranting about her current boyfriend to her ex. "Sorry, I know it must seem weird, seeing me and Nightwing as a couple, after you and I-"

"Does he make you happy?" Kaldur's question cut off Reese's hasty apology, and it made the ex-shapeshifter look up to meet Aqualad's pale-green eyes, which she used to find so enchanting and mystical. Now, there was a certain pair of enigmatic cerulean orbs that occupied Reese's idle thoughts the most. After a few seconds of her thinking of a response, Reese nodded.

"Yeah," she said quietly, mentally gauging Kaldur's reaction. "He does. A lot," Kaldur gave Reese another smile, and this time Reese found herself giving a hesitant one back.

"Then that is all that I care about," Kaldur gave Reese another smile before he walked off to speak with Artemis and Wally, who were standing by the kitchen island. A few minutes later, Reese was joined by Black Canary, who glanced at her with the barest traces of a smirk.

"Lonely?" Dinah asked, and Reese glanced at her from the corner of her eye as she noticed that Black Canary's words seemed a bit... _sly_. Shrugging her shoulders, Reese glanced at Dinah again for a split-second before turning away.

"Not particularly," she said, not divulging much. "I just wish I knew where Nightwing was," Dinah gave her a look that told Reese she knew  _exactly_ where Dick had holed himself up. The two held a staring contest for a few minutes, in which Reese silently pleaded with Dinah to tell her where, and Dinah stubbornly refused to let up. Fortunately, though, Dinah eventually gave Reese a genuine smile.

"I would try the training room if I were you, and Dick were Oliver," Reese raised an eyebrow, but headed out of the rec room, snagging an extra plate of cake on the way. If Reese knew Dick, and she did, she  _also_ knew that if Nightwing had been training, relentlessly, for the past almost  _three_ hours, Batman's eldest bird was sure to be hungry. And she could distinctly remember hearing Dick say that M'gann's baking skills were off-the-charts, and Reese could agree.

And that was how Rhysalin Michaels found Nightwing, Richard Grayson, using the gymnastic rings as he pulled himself up with the strength that was in his upper arms, held it there for a few moments, then dropped down so he was dangling. But, when Dick caught sight of Reese standing by the doorway, his grip loosened, and he tumbled fifteen feet to the padded floor. Reese winced as she watched Dick land on his stomach with a prominent 'oomph'.

"You okay?" she asked, setting the plate holding the slice of cake down on a nearby bench, and holding out a hand for Dick to grab. Nightwing did so gratefully, and Reese pulled him up until he was standing on his feet.

"Fine," Dick said simply, brushing himself off. "Got... _distracted_ for a moment there," Reese smirked and stepped a half-inch closer.

"Distracted, huh?" she quipped, running a finger along Dick's chest, and smirked as she saw his cheeks turn pink. "Is that going to be some sort of inside joke between us now?" Dick shrugged.

"If you want it to be," he said simply. "I kind of like it," he bent down and picked up a towel that had been laying on the bench, and he used it to wipe down his jet-black hair that was glistening with sweat. As Dick laid the towel around his shoulders, Reese bent down and picked up the slice of cake she had brought from the kitchen, and held it out in front of her.

"You look hungry," she said simply as Dick's eyes widened at the confection in front of him. "Also, I remember you saying that M'gann made a fantastic vanilla cake, so I thought I'd bring you some. Also, Canary said she thinks you'd be done 'cooling off' by now," Reese handed the cake to Dick, along with a fork that she had pulled out of her back pocket. As Dick munched on the cake, Reese made her way over to the gymnastic rings where Nightwing had been moments before and pulled herself up.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Dick's voice entered Reese's hearing, and she looked down to find him staring up at her from the training room's floor, one eyebrow raised, and a forkful of cake halfway to his mouth. Reese tilted her head in a sort of shrug.

"You make it look so easy when you use these in the Batcave. I was just wondering what it was like," She noticed that Dick looked a bit skeptical, but heaved a sigh when he realized that there was no way Reese was able to somehow hurt herself when she was up using the rings. He set the cake down on the bench and crossed his arms over his chest to watch Reese.

Of course, that statement was later null and void when Reese tried to grab onto a ring, but she lost her grip and fell towards the floor. She would've slammed into the ground too, had it not been for Nightwing, who had leaped up from his spot on the floor and caught Reese seconds before she hit the mat.

"See?" Dick asked once Reese was steady on her feet. "This is why  _I'm_ the acrobat in the family," he sounded concerned, which Reese figured Dick probably was, but his blue eyes were also sparkling with mirth, so she knew that Nightwing wasn't  _that_ mad. Reese huffed good-naturedly and glared teasingly at Dick.

"Just because  _you're_ the acrobat, doesn't mean that  _I_ can't be flexible," Reese felt her face flush as she watched Dick's lips grow into a wicked smirk and mentally prepared herself for what he was about to say next.

"Oh Rhysalin, I  _know_ you're flexible," she slapped the back of her hand against Dick's chest, and Nightwing winced. "Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "That came off a bit too Wally," Reese nodded and held her left index finger and thumb close together so it seemed like they were touching.

"Just a bit," she said, before leaning closer and pressing her lips to Dick's for a split-second before she leaned away. "But don't worry, I find the flirtation amusing," Dick smirked again and leaned forward until his nose brushed Reese's.

"Oh, you find it  _amusing_ , do you?" he asked, and though Reese could feel her face flush, she leaned forward until her lips were millimeters from his.

"Yep," she whispered. "Amusing," Dick hummed, and then he was kissing her, and Reese wove her fingers through his black hair. He tasted like the frosting M'gann had used for her birthday cake, sweet but rich at the same time. Their lips still locked together, Dick bent down until the back of Reese's knees hit the bench, and Reese sat down, brushing her fingers along the back of Nightwing's head, and smirking into the kiss when she felt Dick shiver as her finger brushed lightly against his nape.

"Regardless of what happened earlier," Reese whispered, her lips ghosting lightly over Dick's. "I really _did_ enjoy my birthday," Dick leaned back and gave Reese the first genuine  _smile_ , a smile not a smirk since they had gotten to Mount Justice.

"Good," he said quietly, tugging Reese to her feet. "Because it's not over yet," Reese raised an eyebrow. What else could Dick  _possibly_ have planned? When she asked as much, Nightwing's eyes twinkled.

"That, my dear Argent, is part of the surprise," Reese's eyebrow rose higher on her face, but Dick said nothing in way of what was going to happen, and extended a hand towards Reese. She stared at it skeptically for a minute before she laced her fingers through Dick's, and Nightwing pulled her to her feet. "Come on," he said simply. "You'll love it, I promise," Reese didn't know what Dick had in store for her, but she knew it would be fun.

Dick led Reese out of the training room, and into the area of the cave where their cycles were parked, in case the Team ever needed them. Surprisingly, Nightwing's was there as well, the black chrome plating gleaming in the cave's dim light, and Reese noticed that the motorcycle had an almost blue sheen to it though that also may have been from the blue accents and holo-screen interface. On its opposite side was Reese's own bike, hers a metallic silver with both light, and dark gray accents, with an interface that was a darker gray.

"Wait here," Dick said quietly, stopping next to his bike. "I'll be right back," He then walked out of the garage, and Reese stared after him quizzically. What was he up to? As she waited for Dick to get back, Reese made her way over to her own bike and perched herself on the side of the seat. Swiping open the interface, Reese skimmed through the various case files and information that Batman had stored there.

There was the information from Luke's attack in Central City two years ago, when Reese had ended up in the hospital and Jonathan Crane first gave her a dose of the fear toxin. Then, there was the file Dick had found on the two, well, now  _one_ Shadow that was hunting Reese down. Reese read through the information Nightwing had compiled, and her blood ran cold. To be honest, she had almost forgotten about that encounter on Mount Everest.

The gypsy fortune-teller than Kong and Fan had gone to find was Blanche, the same gypsy who had given Reese the advice about confronting her feelings for Nightwing in the first place. It had been a strange coincidence that Reese just so happened to be in the same area, and had barely managed to save both Blanche's life and her own. The gypsy had parted ways with Reese soon after, but not before giving her more advice about her then non-existent love life.

_Follow your heart, Reese. Love is a fickle thing, but if certain people know how to work it, I assure you, you will not be disappointed._

Only now, five months later, did Reese fully understand what Blanche had meant. It wasn't about choosing between Dick and Kaldur. It was about  _them_ choosing between  _her_. And everyone knew how that had turned out. Reese sighed. In the past four months since Dick had brought her home, the number of people that had either made it their "mission" to hunt Reese down and permanently silence her, or have her end up seriously maimed, was beginning to get ridiculous.

Reese knew that, for as long as he lived, Dick wouldn't let anything happen to her, but he could only go so far. In the two days that she had been unconscious after Bruce's disastrous attempt to return her hearing, Reese also knew for a fact that Nightwing had both either A.) Not left her side at all, or B.) Stayed by her side and ignored his own personal needs, like sustenance, sleep, etc. She had a feeling it was the latter.

"Ready?" a voice jerked Reese from her thoughts, and she looked up to find Dick standing behind her. Surprisingly, he was now dressed as Nightwing. As Dick walked towards her, Reese raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Why are you in your suit?" she asked, and Dick shrugged.

"I figured, since you've been on so many dates with Dick Grayson, I figured it was high time you went on one with Nightwing," Dick climbed onto his bike and held a hand out to Reese. "Don't worry, I already told Bruce and the others where we were going. Lauren and Jason will bring your gifts back, and you can open your presents tomorrow morning because I'm not entirely sure when we'll get back tonight," Reese felt her eyebrow rise even higher, but nonetheless took Nightwing's outstretched hand and let him pull her onto the seat behind him.

Before he started the engine, Dick handed Reese a silver and black motorcycle helmet, which had been hanging off one of the handles of Reese's own bike. As she strapped it onto her head, Reese connected the helmets' communication system, so she would be able to talk to Nightwing as they traveled.

"Where exactly are you planning on taking me?" she asked, but her only response was Dick's signature cackle.

"You'll just have to wait and see, Rhysalin," he said, and even though he couldn't see her, Reese stuck her tongue out at Dick.

"You know then that this is technically kidnapping?" she asked, and Dick shook his head as he revved the engine of his motorcycle, the soft roar echoing through the cave.

"I wouldn't kidnap you, Argent," he said as the cave's door opened and Dick drove outside. "There's this little thing called patience, and most people have it," Reese rolled her eyes behind the helmet's visor.

"Bluebird, you must know by now that I'm not 'most people'," Reese tightened her hold around Dick's waist and Nightwing weaved in between the different cars and trucks that were on the freeway outside Happy Harbor.

"Argent, I am  _well_ aware that you are not most people,"

**Gotham City; March 6th, 20:00 EST**

Dick

Nightwing and Reese eventually made their way to Gotham City. Dick parked his motorcycle in a deserted alley and threw a nearby canvas tarp over the top so it was hidden. Across the street stood the headquarters for Wayne Enterprises, and the destination Dick had picked for their date. Grabbing Reese's hand, Nightwing pulled the two of them up the side of one of the buildings that shared the alley, using the fire escape's railing to scale the building's wall.

"Where are we going, Bluebird?" Reese asked once they were on top of the building, which turned out to be an insurance company's headquarters. Dick glanced over his shoulder at Reese before he gently reached behind him and grasped her hands, and looped them around his neck.

"I need you to hang on," he said, before taking out his grappler and shooting it so it caught on an anchor on the Wayne Enterprises' roof. Reese tightened her hold, and Dick smirked before he launched the two of them off the edge of the building, and swung across the traffic-jammed Gotham street to the top of the Wayne Tech building.

"Dick, why are we here?" Reese asked, and Dick set her down and put his hands over Reese's eyes, turning the two of them around so they were facing Gotham Harbor.

"Shh, Rhysalin," he whispered, removing his hands from over Reese's eyes. "Watch," The days had been getting longer, and even though it was just past eight in the evening, the Gotham sun was just beginning to set on the edge of the harbor. 

As the massive ball of fiery gas disappeared over the horizon, the sky was suddenly aflame with streaks of red, pink, and orange. Dick heard Reese's barely contained gasp of awe as the girl caught sight of the Gotham sunset, and he couldn't help but smile.

"I come up here sometimes after I'm done with patrol if I'm done before the sun sets," Dick said quietly, standing behind Reese's shoulder. "Other times I come up here with Jason, and just sit, talking about stuff," Reese turned her head, and Nightwing narrowed his eyes when he noticed the questions lingering in her own eyes.

"Do you ever talk about me?" her voice was quiet, barely more than an expelled breath, but Dick caught it anyway, and stepped a bit closer until Reese's back was pressed flush against his chest.

"Argent, what do you mean? Robin thinks of you as his own sister, he wouldn't have anything  _bad_ to say about you. Why are you asking?" Reese shrugged and turned back around to look at the rapidly darkening sky.

"Just something I've been thinking about lately. It's just...I've been back for almost three months already, and the only time I really connected or bonded, I guess, with Robin was when we went Christmas shopping, and we both know how that turned out," Dick raised an eyebrow.

"Rhysalin, are you okay? Yes, Christmas was a bit of a bitch, but we got through it, and everything since then. We'll get through this mess with the Shadows too, don't worry," Dick didn't know where those semi-inspirational words had come from, but they seemed to have lifted Reese's spirits a bit, so that was something. Unfortunately, though, the girl's faint smile dropped just as fast.

"That's not what I'm worried about Dick," she said quietly, wrapping her arms around herself, and plopping herself down on the edge of the Wayne Tech building's roof, legs dangling over the edge. "Everything that's happened since you brought me back. The crime families in Rome, the Shadows, Luke, Sporelli, Celeste, Fan, that all happened because of  _me_. Luke's death was  _my_ fault, and so was Celeste's kidnapping. I can't help but wonder..." she trailed off, and Dick sat down next to her, looping his arm around her shoulders and tugging her close.

"Argent listen,  _none_ of those things that happened was your fault. Leo, in Rome, made his choice to deter the Team from finding out his father's and Sporelli's plan, and he died because of it. Luke would have killed you, and to a degree, Kallik saved your life. As for Kong and Fan, well...they're just dicks," Reese let out a choked laugh and turned her head so she was looking into Nightwing's mask lenses.

"Don't flatter yourself, Bluebird," she said cracking a hesitant smile, and Dick found himself smiling back. "It's beneath you," Dick hummed.

"I don't think so, Argent," he said sneakily, leaning over to press his lips to her temple, then placing his forehead against the side of her head so his mouth was right next to Reese's ear. "I find it  _amusing_ ," this time, Reese gave a genuine smile.

"Thanks, Dick," she said quietly as Nightwing leaned forward again to wipe away the tear streaks on Reese's face. He pressed a quick kiss to the bridge of her nose before leaning back again.

"Anytime, Rhysalin," he said quietly, before turning serious and looking straight at Reese's face. "Argent, you know I love you, right?" Reese nodded.

"Of course Bluebird, I love you too, But-" 

"Then you also know that I'll do absolutely everything in my power to protect you and make sure nothing ever happens to you, right?"

"Richard, I can protect myself, you know that," Dick nodded.

"I do, but seriously, Reese. I wouldn't be able to bear it if you were to...die...somehow..." it was almost too much for Nightwing to even  _think_ of Reese dying. It was bad enough when she had been shot in Rome, or worse, the attack at the Hall of Justice. If it were to actually  _happen_...

"If I were to die, Bluebird, you'd be able to do whatever you can to avenge me or whatnot," Reese's voice jerked Dick from his thoughts, and he looked up to find his girlfriend gazing at him with a soft smile on her face.

"If you were to die, Rhysalin, I would hunt down everyone responsible, and make sure they never hurt anyone ever again," it was an honest answer. Dick knew he would lose it if anything were to happen to Reese, injury or otherwise, and nobody, not even Batman, would be able to stop him if ever Reese were to die.

"I love you, Richard John Grayson," Reese's voice was quiet, and Dick looked over at her with a soft smile on his lips.

"I love you too, Rhysalin Blaire," he leaned forward and kissed Reese firmly on the mouth, weaving his black-gloved fingers through her hair. "Forever and always," Reese kissed back willingly, and her hands made their way to Dick's shoulders.

Nightwing moved and leaned forward again until Reese's back was pressed firmly against the building's roof. Reese's hands migrated from Dick's shoulders to his black hair, and Nightwing detached his mouth from Reese's and began feathering his lips along Reese's jawline, stopping when he hit the back of Reese's ear, then retracing his path and going up the other side.

When he hit a certain spot on the side of her neck, Reese sucked in a strangled breath and Dick smirked.

"Distracted, Rhysalin?" he whispered, and Reese scoffed.

"You wish," she hissed back, but Dick could see he had gotten her flustered, and he counted that as a win in his book. After a few more minutes, Dick lay down on the tarmac-covered roof and crossed his arms under his head. Reese laid her head on his chest and the two of them watched the few stars they could see in the sky start to twinkle. Because Gotham was a relatively large city, and also one of the most polluted cities in the country, actually catching a glimpse of the starry night sky was one in a million.

Dick could feel his eyelids drooping, and he figured the exhaustion from the past couple of days was finally catching up to him. Nightwing closed his eyes, content to hear the sounds of Reese breathing beside him when suddenly Reese shot up, and Dick's eyes flew open.

"What?" he asked hurriedly, now wide-awake, only to find Reese perched on the edge of the roof, her head tilted to the side. "Reese, what is it?" the girl quickly hushed him and tilted her head a bit more, and Nightwing suddenly realized she was listening to something. Something  _he_ couldn't hear.

"There's a woman a few alleys over," Reese said quietly before she turned to Dick, eyes wide. "She's being mugged," Dick gave a solid nod, and using his grappler, dropped the both of them down in the same alley he had parked his motorcycle in.

"You don't have your suit," Dick said quickly. "Stay here," Reese looked a bit affronted but opted to cross her arms and lean against the chrome plating instead of arguing. Nightwing made his way to the entrance of the alley before glancing back over his shoulder. "Which way?" he asked, and Reese jerked her thumb to the right.

When Dick got closer, he could hear a gruff man's voice down the alley that Reese had indicated.

"If you just give me your money lady, no one has to get hurt," Dick crept forward, using the shadows as a cover, and saw a man holding a woman and young boy at gunpoint. The boy looked to be Jason and Lauren's age, maybe a bit younger, with short black hair and piercing blue eyes. The woman, whom Nightwing assumed was the boy's mother, looked a lot like him.

"Please," the woman whimpered, her arms wrapped tightly around her son. "We don't have anything with us," Dick felt that this situation had gone on long enough, so he spoke.

"You should listen to the lady," he silently smirked as the man whipped around, shakily pointing the gun in where he thought Nightwing was hiding. Truthfully, it was about six feet to the left of him.

"Who's there?" the man called out. "Show yourself!" Nightwing slipped an eskrima stick from the holster on his right leg and silently electrified it.

"How about you drop the gun, let this nice woman and her son go, and I bring you to GCPD with no trouble?" before Dick was able to react, the man had yanked the boy from his mother's grasp and held the muzzle of the gun to his temple.

"Come out or I'll shoot 'im!" the man cried, only to be overtaken by the woman's scream.

"Tim!" Tim, who Dick assumed to be the boy, looked remarkably unfrightened. He stood still, and to Nightwing's surprise, looked straight where Dick was standing, still in the shadows, and gave him a small smile.

Seeing no other option, Nightwing stepped out of the dark, and the man who held Tim at gunpoint looked almost smug for a split-second before he seemed to realize who was standing in front of him and his smirk abruptly dropped and he made a run for it. He roughly pushed Tim in Dick's direction and took off down the alley, but was taken down when there was a whistling sound, and a silver-and-black arrow flew down from the roof, splitting into a bola and wrapping up the running man's legs.

Then, as if the man wasn't stupid enough, he then began to crawl like a worm towards the street, when Dick threw his still-electrified eskrima stick towards him, and he convulsed for a few seconds before he lay still, unconscious.

Nightwing turned back to Tim and his mother, who were both looking at him with awed looks on their faces. Tim was the one who spoke first.

"That. Was.  _Awesome_!" he cried, practically jumping with glee, and his giddiness made Dick smile. Nightwing tilted his head up to the roof where the arrow had come from, and in the dim light given off by a Gotham streetlamp, saw Reese standing on the edge, recurve bow in hand.

"I've already called the police," Tim's mother said a bit shakily, gently setting a hand on her son's shoulder so he would calm down. "Thank you, Nightwing," Dick gave a nod, though it really hadn't been him who had saved Tim and his mother. It had been Reese.

"Who's the arrow from?" Tim asked, and Dick tilted his head.

"Someone I know," he said before he nodded again and used the nearby fire escapes to launch himself onto the roof, only to find it empty. Hopping over the side, Dick landed in the alley where Reese was waiting, leaning against his bike, a small smirk on her face.

"Took you long enough," she said, but Dick quickly silenced her with a kiss.

"Thanks," he said quietly once they had separated, noses angled together. "Why'd you have your bow anyway?" Reese shrugged.

"Thought I'd bring it, see what would happen," she glanced over at Nightwing and raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you glad I did?"

"Very," Dick whispered, his lips ghosting over Reese's. "Even though we got interrupted earlier, I hoped this was a pretty asterous birthday date," Reese leaned back, a twinkle in her eye.

"Asterous. I haven't heard you say that in a while," Dick shrugged.

"Maybe things just haven't been too traught," Truthfully, he liked being able to say his strange play-on-English words again, and was glad Reese seemed to like them too. He couldn't help but wonder though...what would've happened if he hadn't gone to Nepal? Would Reese have died in Nanda Parbat? Most likely. Would Dick ever have forgiven himself if he found out Reese was dead when he could've saved her? Definitely not.

"About earlier..." Reese's voice brought Dick from his thoughts, and he looked up at her. "What if we  _hadn't_ been interrupted?" Dick raised an eyebrow. Leaning forward until his lips were inches from Reese's, Nightwing smirked.

"Care to elaborate, Rhysalin?" she leaned forward to kiss him, but just as their lips were about to touch, Nightwing leaned back, smirking.

"Tease," Reese hissed, before crashing her lips against his, making Dick stumble back until he hit the brick wall of the alley. Nightwing placed his hands on Reese's waist, his fingers ghosting over the skin between the waistline of her leggings and her sweatshirt. Dick smirked into the kiss when he felt Reese's skin shiver beneath his touch.

"Aw, Argent," he whispered, flipping their positions so Reese was pressed against the wall in his place. "Am I  _distracting_ you?" Reese tugged on Dick's hair, and subconsciously Dick felt a groan build in the back of his throat.

"Definitely," Reese whispered as Nightwing kissed his way down her neck. "Please don't stop," Dick took a deep breath.

"I have no intention to," Dick pressed his lips to Reese's again and hooked her legs around her waist so she was held securely between him and the wall. Suddenly, there was a crash and both Nightwing and Reese froze. Dick stepped back, setting Reese back on her feet, and took his eskrima sticks out of their holster while Reese unfolded her bow and nocked an arrow, pointing it towards the alley's entrance.

There was a whooshing sound, and suddenly Reese dropped to the ground, a small feathered dart sticking out of her neck. Nightwing's head snapped up, just in time to catch the face of the man who had shot Reese. His blood boiled and his fingers clenched around his eskrima sticks when he recognized the man. It was Jiu-Lang Kong, the other Shadow.

"Isn't this just the most  _touching_ moment?" the man sneered, and Dick narrowed his eyes, daring to glance down at Reese. She was lying limp on the ground, hair spread out in a fan around her head.

"What did you  _do_ to her?" Nightwing growled, his self-control hanging by its last shreds. Kong shrugged, and Dick had to refrain from jumping at him.

"Mixed some Rohypnol with a strong tranquilizer. If it makes you feel better, I was aiming for you..." Kong kept talking, but Nightwing had stopped listening. Making sure the assassin wouldn't see, Dick swiftly reached up and tapped his commlink.

"Nightwing to Robin," he hissed and sighed quietly in relief when Jason answered.

"What is it, Nightwing?"

"Jiu-Lang Kong's here in Gotham," Dick growled, his voice low and deadly. "He drugged Reese. Get to the alley across from the Wayne Tech building. Might want to bring KF. I'm going after Kong," before Jason could say anything, Dick cut off the line and stood up straight. "Why were you and Fan hunting Reese down?" he asked Kong, and the assassin sneered, his Eastern Asian features twisting into a grotesque scowl.

"Do you know what it's like? Having a mission that's supposed to be easy, and then someone comes along and ruins the entire thing? When that same someone ruins your entire reputation, making you the  _laughingstock_?" Dick didn't answer, and Kong only chuckled menacingly, walking forward a few steps. Nightwing changed his stance, standing protectively in front of Reese's unconscious form.

"But how could you?" Kong continued, walking even closer, his almond-shaped eyes dark with rage. "You're Nightwing. Batman's golden-boy. Do you know how much she talked about you in Nanda Parbat? Wouldn't stop yapping about how 'Nightwing's going to make you pay' and 'Better hope Nightwing doesn't find you'. Shame really. I quite enjoyed our time togeth-" Dick reached out and slammed Kong against the wall, making the Shadow's teeth rattle.

"Don't.  _Ever_. Talk about Reese like that again. Or else," Kong sneered.

"Or else what? You won't kill me, Nightwing, you can't. It would break Batman's code," Dick leaned forward, his mask lenses narrowed and his grip around Kong's throat tightening.

"I already broke it," he growled. "I _killed_ your _partner_." Kong's eyes widened, and Dick abruptly let go, making Kong fall to the dirtied ground with a grunt. As he rubbed his red throat, the assassin looked up.

"You're not going to kill me?" he asked hoarsely, and Dick shook his head.

"As much as I want to, I'm not going to," From the corner of his eye, Nightwing caught a streak of yellow, and Kid Flash and Robin were suddenly standing at the other end of the alley, behind Kong's back. Dick snapped his head to the side, gesturing for KF and Jason to watch Reese. He spoke again just as Kong was making his way past Nightwing to "escape".

"That doesn't mean though, that I won't hurt you. Badly. For what you did," Kong must've caught the downright murderous look that was blazing behind Dick's mask, because he took one last look at Nightwing before turning around and sprinting out of the alley, Dick right on his heels. "Stay with Reese!" he called back to Wally and Jason, before Nightwing chased Kong out into the Gotham night, giving chase as the assassin pushed people out of the way in his haste to try and get away.

"Look! It's Nightwing!" Dick could hear people crying out in awe at seeing one of Gotham's vigilantes in person, but their voices were little more than droning noise. The only objective in Nightwing's mind at the moment was to catch Jiu-Lang Kong.

Dick caught sight of him a half-block away and sprinted through the crowded street to get to him, cars honking at him as he did. Kong made the mistake of looking behind him and was promptly tackled to the ground as Nightwing threw him against a building's wall, cracking the mortar and most likely giving the assassin a concussion as well. Dick took out one of his eskrima sticks and pressed the electrified end into Kong's side, passing 600 volts into the man's system.

Kong collapsed to the ground, and Dick noticed that he wasn't that far from the Gotham precinct, and decided to drop Kong off with Gordon before he really  _did_ end up killing him.

Slamming the door to the GCPD open, Nightwing walked inside, dragging the unconscious body of Jiu-Lang Kong behind him, ignoring the stares of each of the officers. Commissioner Gordon ran out of his office, Barbara not far behind. Dick swore under his breath as both Gordons stared in shock at him.

"Nightwing," the Commissioner said a bit shakily, his glasses askew. "You found one of the assassins?" Dick avoided Babs' eye, knowing Batgirl was going to chew him out later.

"I did," he said simply. "I'd prefer if you locked him up in Blackgate. He can't cause any trouble from in there," Gordon glanced at Kong's body, then at Nightwing, eyebrow raised.

"Any particular reason he looks like he was just run over with the Batmobile?" Dick made his face emotionless and tried desperately not to look over at Barbara.

"He tried to drug Dick Grayson's girlfriend," In the corner of his eye, Dick saw Babs' head snap up, and kept his eyes on the Commissioner, who nodded once in confirmation.

"We'll hold him here for the night, and transfer him to Blackgate first thing in the morning. Oh, and, Nightwing?" he added just as Dick turned to leave. Nightwing glanced back over his shoulder, only to see Jim with an almost  _knowing_ look on his face. "I appreciate him coming here in one piece. People can do crazy things when someone they love is in danger," Dick subconsciously tensed his muscles and gave both Gordons a stiff nod before he headed out of the precinct, and back to where Wally and Jason were with Reese.

The girl had by now woken up but was still looking a little woozy. Dick quickly rushed to her side, and Reese looked up at him with a loopy smile.

" _Hey_ , it's the _WingNight_ ," she said, and Nightwing glanced once at her before turning back to Wally, who just shrugged.

"Dude, you should've heard what she was saying  _before_ you got back,"

"She said something about sleep-deprivation and birthday cake. Then, something about gymnastics," Jason piped up, scratching his head in confusion. "I'm not really sure, it was all in Romanian," Dick shook his head before he looped an arm around Reese's waist and helped her to her feet. Carrying her over to where his motorcycle was parked, Nightwing set her on the seat before climbing behind her, if only to make sure that Reese didn't fall off as he was driving back to the Batcave.

"Do I get to  _drive_?" Reese gasped out, and Dick shook his head.

"No,"

"But-"

"No."

"Ugh, f _ine_ ," he glanced back once at Wally and Jason, but they were both struggling to hold in their laughter. Dick rolled his eyes before he revved the engine of his bike and roared out the alley, Reese giggling happily in front of him.

Dick hadn't even gotten past the Gotham Library when he got a call. He swore quietly under his breath when he saw the Caller ID. Apparently, it was now "later".

"Hel-" he didn't even get a greeting out before Babs was chewing his ear off.

"What the hell were you thinking Grayson?" she cried, making Dick wince. "Throwing the assassin into GCPD, and saying he tried to drug your  _girlfriend_?" Dick rolled his eyes.

"But that's what happened," he said, quickly slapping Reese's hands away from where she was trying to press the various buttons on his bike's interface. "No, don't touch that,"

"Excuse me?" He sighed.

"Not you, Babs. It's Reese. Kong  _actually_ drugged her, and now she's acting like she was put on anesthesia," he quickly spoke, using one arm to grab Reese as she was about to fall off his bike, and almost crashed into a semi truck as a result, the truck's horn honking loudly as he swerved out of the way.

"Oh, you want me to help you with her?" Dick thought it over for a minute before shaking his head, then remembering that Babs couldn't see him.

"No, I got it. She should sleep it off by morning anyway,"

"Okay," Batgirl said finally, still sounding a bit skeptical. "If you're sure," Dick nodded to himself.

"I am. G'night Babs."

" 'Night Dick," Luckily, it was only a few minutes more before Nightwing drove into the Batcave and parked his bike, face-palming as he watched Reese try and make her way over to the stairs.

"Stay here," he said firmly, sitting Reese down on a chair as he went to change out his suit into something more comfortable. Dick had been in the changing room maybe five minutes and was just about to put a t-shirt on to go along with his sweatpants when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his waist. He looked down to find Reese's head against his chest, and she had actually  _fallen asleep_ standing up.

Dick sighed. At least this way she'd work off the drug faster. Nightwing picked Reese up, bridal-style, and carried her up the stairs to her bedroom. Dick placed Reese under her silver-and-blue comforter and pressed his lips to her temple.

"Happy birthday, Rhysalin Blaire," he whispered and was about to leave to go to his own bed when Reese's hand suddenly wrapped itself around Dick's wrist and tugged him onto her bed, dropping him unceremoniously on top of her.

"Stay," he could hear Reese whisper, just as she snuggled up to him, head curled into his chest. Within seconds, she was out like a light, breathing deeply and rhythmically. Dick sighed. He wasn't planning on moving anytime soon anyway.

"You'll feel better in the morning, Argent," Dick whispered, ghosting his lips over her temple before wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. A few minutes later, Nightwing was asleep as well, the exhaustion from the past couple of days finally catching up with him.

_Happy Birthday Indeed..._  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be Jason, Lauren, and Dick's "research excursion" to the S.T.A.R Labs in Metropolis. Expect explosions, bets, and scenarios like how Barry Allen got his powers, only without the nine-month-long coma.


	13. Chapter 12...Canary Cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Reese and Dick discover another side-effect of Waller's experiments, they reach out to Dinah Lance for help. At the S.T.A.R Labs in Metropolis, Lauren finds a mysterious golden rock while Nightwing, Reese's new identity of Silverbird, and Superboy deal with Bizarro, Silver Banshee and Livewire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reese's Silverbird suit is like Thea Queen's from Arrow, only silver instead of red. Also, REFERENCES...SO. MANY. REFERENCES.

**Wayne Manor; March 9th, 10:55 EST**

Reese

Reese blinked her eyes open three days after her birthday to find her bedroom bathed in late-morning light. Glancing at her clock, Reese was glad that Bruce had allowed her to finish her schooling online. Not that she didn't  _want_ to go to school, but after being in the Himalayas for a year, she'd be so far behind that it would be almost impossible for her to catch up. Being able to work on assignments on her own time made the whole thing much easier.

Stretching, Reese made her way over to her closet. She didn't  _really_ feel like doing anything until Dick, Jason, and Lauren was home, so she just pulled on a knitted olive-green sweater, a pair of stretchy black jeggings, and some fuzzy socks, before making her way downstairs. Reese had just reached the top of the stairs to go downstairs when she stopped.

She tilted her head and strained her super-hearing in order to catch what she thought she'd heard. It hadn't been much more than a shuffle of fabric, but you could never be too sure, especially after what happened with Fan. Still listening, Reese slipped her bō staff out of her pocket. Don't ask why she had it on her. The noise got closer, and when Reese realized it was right behind her, she extended the staff and swung it behind her, only for someone to catch it inches before it hit their face.

When Reese recognized them, she abruptly shrunk her staff again, and Dick raised an eyebrow at her.

"Were you planning on hitting me with that?" he asked, smirking, and Reese rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "Don't you have school?" Dick shrugged.

"Thought I'd take a 'me' day," he said simply as the two of them made their way into the lounge, where Alfred had gotten a warm fire going. Even though it was March, and therefore less than three weeks before the start of spring, in the past couple days, Gotham had been hit by a freak cold spell, and the temperatures had dropped to more than fifty degrees below zero. Reese glanced over her shoulder at Dick.

"You're skipping school?" she asked skeptically as she sat down on the couch. Dick shrugged.

"It's not like Jason and Lauren won't get out early anyway. I mean, have you  _seen_ the snowstorm outside?" Reese shook her head.

"No, I just woke up," she tilted her head and looked out the window, where there were massive fluffy flakes blowing in the wind. Dick chuckled and shook his head.

"I still don't get how you can get more than fourteen hours of sleep in a row,  _or_ fall asleep anywhere that  _isn't_ a bedroom," Reese had to admit, Dick had a point. She could fall asleep anywhere, it didn't have to be a bed. Once, when she had been working on a case while Batman and Robin were on patrol, Reese had fallen asleep in the chair in front of the Batcomputer, only for Nightwing to wake her up to bring her to bed once the three of them had gotten back from patrol.

"Guess I'm just adaptable," she said simply because she wasn't entirely sure how it worked herself. Dick 'hmphed', but sat down on the couch next to Reese, tugging her close to him, so she was pressed flush against his chest. As the two of them watched the flames flicker in the fireplace and Reese listened to Dick's steady heartbeat against her ear, she could feel her eyelids drooping, but they snapped open when she heard Dick chuckle.

"Don't tell me you're going to fall asleep on me?" Reese only hummed, snuggling deeper into Dick's chest. Truthfully, these were the moments she liked most when it was just the two of them, not really doing anything in particular.

"If I fall asleep, are you going to push me off?" she asked drowsily, and could almost see Dick shaking his head as her eyes drooped shut again.

"I'd never do that, Rhysalin," he said firmly, and Dick looped his arms around Reese's waist. But, just as she was about to fall into a nap half an hour after she had woken up, Reese's eyes flew open when she felt Dick's fingers flutter themselves against her ribcage, making her flinch. The fingers stilled before they ran over Reese's side again, and she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out.

"S-Stop," Reese gasped out, and Dick changed his position so Reese's back was pressed against the leather material of the couch and Dick was hovering above her. Looking up, Reese sighed when she saw Nightwing's smirk.

"Argent, could it be?" he asked slyly, leaning closer. "Are you... _ticklish_?" Reese adamantly shook her head, avoiding Dick's probing blue gaze.

"Of course not," she said through gritted teeth, trying desperately not to laugh as Dick's hand, which was still pressed against her side, shifted. "A person's ribs are the most obvious spot to be ticklish, why would  _that_ be my ticklish spot?" Dick raised an eyebrow.

"So, you're saying your ribs  _aren't_ ticklish?" he asked, and Reese narrowed her eyes because she had a feeling she knew where this conversation was headed. Even so, Reese shook her head, still avoiding Nightwing's eyes.

"Nope," she said. "Not even a bit," A smirk grew on Dick's face, and Reese knew she had lost this battle. Oh well.

"So, you won't start laughing if I do... _this_?" Reese bit down on her laugh as Dick tickled her sides, and began wriggling on the couch, trying to get Dick off, but Nightwing was stubborn, and he only tickled harder. Eventually, Reese just  _had_ to laugh, and she opened her mouth and threw her head back against the couch's armrest, only instead of laughter coming out of her mouth, a high-resonance sonic scream, not unlike a Canary Cry, exited Reese's voicebox and erupted against the lounge's ceiling, making the plaster shake.

"What was that?" Reese asked hoarsely once she had snapped her mouth shut. She caught Dick's glance, and Nightwing's eyes were wide with shock.

"I  _think_ that was another side-effect of CADMUS," he said quietly, and Reese opened her mouth to say something, but the sound of breaking glass cut her off. Apparently, Dick had caught it as well, because he tilted his head up and they both caught sight of the massive chandelier swinging wildly above them, and it only took Reese a split-second to realize it was about to fall.

Dick tackled Reese off of the couch and shielded her with his body just as the chandelier slammed onto the couch where they had been mere seconds before. Glass flew everywhere, and Reese clenched her eyes shut as she and Nightwing rolled across the floor to get out of the way of the flying glass. A few seconds later, Reese opened one eye to look at her surroundings and found Dick staring at her, worry etched on his face.

"You okay?" he asked quietly, and Reese nodded. Nightwing extended a hand, and Reese was pulled to her feet. Thoughts were running through her head at light-speed. Okay, so she had heightened senses, that was fine. But a  _sonic scream_? Reese began to pace and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to make sense of the whole situation. Originally, her, Dick, and Wally thought that the absence of the Silver X in Reese's DNA would only give her enhanced senses, not  _actual_ powers.

"What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?" Reese kept repeating that to herself over and over again as she paced around the fallen chandelier, careful to mind the glass on the floor, seeing as how she was currently wearing no shoes, only her fuzzy socks. A hand was suddenly placed on Reese's cheek and she stopped her frantic pacing to look up at Dick, who was smiling at her softly.

"Calm down, Rhysalin," he said quietly. "You're going to be okay. We should probably go and talk to Dinah and Oliver though, and see what we can find out about  _your_ Canary Cry," there was a faint bit of humor in Dick's voice, and it made Reese give a small smile before she remembered something.

"Wait," she said. "How are we going to get to Star City? The entire East Coast is in this polar vortex until spring, and _yes_ ," she added when Dick opened his mouth. "I know that Star City is on the  _West_ Coast, but won't Zeta tubes be down because of the weather?" Dick thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"No, that's only if the entire country is in the storm or something, like when there were those ice fortresses a couple years ago," Reese nodded, because it made sense, and grabbed Dick's hand before she practically dragged him over to the grandfather clock and down to the Batcave. Not before slipping on a pair of boots, of course.

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" she burst out, beginning to get excited. "I want to figure out this new power before anyone gets hurt. Because  _that_ would  _not_ be fun," Dick typed the coordinates in the Zeta tube, and they stepped inside.

**Recognized Nightwing B01, Silver X B10**

"We really need to change my name," Reese said as she and Dick stepped out of a hidden Zeta tube in an alley of Star City. Reese had no idea how only 2,500 miles between two cities could have such a drastic weather change. 

In Gotham, there was a massive blizzard with the wind chill measuring negative fifty degrees, but in Star it was sunny, and the temperature was a nice sixty-five. When Reese and Dick stepped out of the alley, Reese shielded her eyes. It was even  _sunnier_ in Star City, though that wasn't saying much, seeing as how Gotham was one of the dreariest places in the whole _galaxy_.

"If you want me to change your designation I will," Dick's voice jerked Reese from her thoughts, and she gave her boyfriend a small smile as they made their way towards Ollie's and Dinah's apartment.

"Sure," Reese agreed. "But I'm not sure exactly what my new name should be," Dick shrugged.

"We can figure that out more when we get back to Gotham," suddenly, Dick's phone rang, and the acrobat's face paled as he read the Caller ID. "Speaking of Gotham..."

"Who is it?" Reese asked, but Dick waved a hand and tapped the answer button.

" _Hey_ , Bruce!" Dick's voice was overly perky, and Reese recognized it as the one he used when he was trying to get out of trouble. "I didn't know you were going to be back from your meeting so early," He was silent for a few moments, and Reese presumed that the Bat was speaking, probably wondering where they were. "The city's gone on lockdown because of the storm?" Dick's voice was curious, and he and Reese exchanged a glance before Dick spoke again. "Are Jason and Lauren home?" a few more seconds of silence, before Dick nodded, and Reese sighed in relief. 

That was good. She didn't want her sister and Robin stranded out during the blizzard. Reese glanced up and saw they were nearing the apartment, so she nudged Dick's side with her elbow. Nightwing glanced up at the building once before talking to Bruce again.

"Why is there a smashed chandelier in the living room?" he asked, feigning ignorance, and Reese winced. "I have absolutely _no_ idea," Reese's eyes widened. Was Dick  _really_ lying to  _Batman_? "Sorry. Gotta go, bye!" Dick quickly hung up, cutting off Bruce's rant, and he and Reese just stared at the phone for a few seconds until Dick let out a shaky breath. "Oh, he is  _so_ going to kill me for that later," he said, and Reese giggled.

"Don't worry, Bluebird," she said as they walked up to the apartment's door, lacing her left hand through Dick's right, before using _her_ right to pat his chest. "I'll protect you," Before Dick could retort, the door was opened, and Reese and Dick were face-to-face with one of the last people they expected to see.

" _Artemis_?" they asked in unison, and the blonde archer raised an eyebrow.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked, and Reese sighed.

"Something...happened in Gotham, and we need to talk to Dinah," Artemis was one of Reese's best friends, and she didn't really feel good about lying to her about the Canary Cry, but Reese deemed it necessary. For what, she didn't know yet.

"Dick, Reese," Black Canary herself showed up in the doorway behind Artemis, a smile on her face. "I heard you needed to speak with me?"

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Dick asked, and Reese glanced at him for a moment before turning back to Dinah, who shrugged.

"The D.A. gave me the day off. Now, what was it you two needed to talk to me about?" Reese bit her lip and caught Dick's glance from the corner of her eye before she sighed heavily. Artemis had walked back inside the apartment, leaving the three of them alone in the hallway.

"Could we maybe, talk somewhere else?" Reese asked, and she couldn't help but notice how shaky her voice seemed. Dick squeezed her hand in reassurance, and Reese squeezed back. Dinah glanced between the two of them for a moment before she nodded slowly.

" _Sure_ , just let me grab my jacket," Reese gave a small nod before Dinah walked back inside. When she was gone, Reese slumped against the hallway's wall, leaning her forehead against the cool marble. 

"This was a terrible idea," she whispered to herself, but apparently Dick caught her words because he cupped her cheek with one hand and tilted her head towards his.

"Arget, no it wasn't," his voice was quiet, but it was calming, as Richard Grayson's always was to Reese, and it made her fears about asking Dinah for help with this dissipate a bit. But just a little bit. "Canary's the best, and pretty much the _only_  person that could help with this. We'll get through this," he pressed his lips to Reese's forehead for a split-second before leaning away, and when he did he was wearing a small smile. "I promise," Reese gave a hesitant smile back, but she still had a few worries.

What if Dinah, Black Canary,  _didn't_ want to help Reese control her new sonic scream? What else would she and Dick be able to do? Before Reese was able to tumble further down into the recesses of her subconscious, Dinah returned.

"Where were you two planning on going?" she asked, and Reese and Dick exchanged a glance before Reese spoke.

"Park?"

**Star City; March 9th, 09:30 PST**

Dick

Dick had one of his hands in his jeans pocket, and the other wrapped securely around Reese's own fingers as he, Reese, and Dinah Lance made their way through one of Star City's parks. They hadn't spoken since they had left the apartment, and Dick knew that Canary was waiting for one of them to make the first move. Ultimately, it was Reese who spoke.

"Do you remember when Dick and I went missing for nine days back in January?" she asked, and Dick watched Dinah give a firm nod.

"I do. It wore down on everyone when Batman and the League weren't able to find you," Dick could see that Reese was hesitant on how to continue, so he just rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand until she calmed down.

"Well, turns out, Amanda Waller had kidnapped us," Dick watched Dinah's face closely for any flash of recognition because he was sure that Bruce had told her where they had been, but Black Canary masked her emotions well. There wasn't any change in her expression. After a few seconds, Dick spoke up.

"When we were at wherever CADMUS had stashed us, Waller said that Reese's shifting powers were disappearing, which is why she hasn't been using them," Dinah nodded in confirmation to Dick's words, and Nightwing continued. "But, she also said that there would be side-effects,"

"Like your super-hearing?" Dinah asked, and Reese nodded. Dinah raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you ask for my help?" Dick heard Reese sigh before she glanced around, and pointed to a trashcan that was several yards away.

"You see that trashcan?" Reese asked, and Dinah nodded. "Keep watching it," Reese got into a ready stance, and Dick gently pulled Dinah back before Reese opened her mouth and screamed. Another Canary Cry burst from Reese's lips and the can went flying, scattering paper and other garbage everywhere. Once it had settled, Dick noticed Dinah's wide eyes.

"Wow," Black Canary said simply, and Dick nodded his face grave. 

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Wow is right," Dinah gestured between the two of them.

"This was why you came all the way to Star City from Gotham?" she asked, and Dick could see Reese bite her lip before nodding.

"Yes. We were hoping you could help me...control the sonic cry, like how Conner did with my super-hearing," Dick saw that Dinah was thinking, but gave a big sigh of relief when Canary nodded.

"Okay," she said. "I'll help." Dick could see that Reese was immensely relieved, and frankly, he felt the same way. This would make this whole ordeal so much easier. The trio made their way back to Oliver and Dinah's apartment, but this time the silence was companionable, with each person's mind filled with ideas.

Dick and Reese came to an abrupt stop when, instead of entering the apartment building, Dinah turned to the left and entered a narrow alley between two buildings. Sticking his head around the corner, Nightwing raised an eyebrow at Dinah.

"Uh, where are you going?" he asked, and Canary looked over her shoulder, her eyes sparkling with mirth.

"You've seen the Batcave," she said, stopping in front of a bare brick wall. "Well, now it's time you saw the  _Arrow_ cave," she laid her hand against a brick, and the square lit up green for a second before each brick began retreating until there was a large door-shaped hole in the wall. Dick's eyebrows were almost at his hairline, and he was sure Reese's were the same.

"You have an  _Arrow_ cave?" Reese asked, and Dinah nodded, her voice almost giddy.

"Since we can't exactly train for missions in the apartment, Oliver had a friend make this," she gestured around them at the "Arrowcave". If Dick was being completely honest, it was pretty cool. There was an obvious green theme, which made sense, considering whose "cave" they were in, but the amount of tech and equipment that was in here...if Dick were to go around and try every single piece, he wouldn't come out for  _days_.

"In order for you to control your own sonic scream, you need to be able to aim," Dinah's voice jerked Dick from his daydream, and Nightwing looked up to find Canary standing on a sparring mat, hands on her hips. She took out four round green discs, like frisbees, and tossed them up into the air before she caught them again. Looking towards Reese, Dinah smiled. "I want you to use your scream to destroy these," she then tossed them into the air, and with four subsonic chirps, Reese made them explode.

Dick's eyes widened. He knew Reese's Canary Cry was powerful if the shattered chandelier in Wayne Manor's living room was any indication, but to see her so controlled like that...now  _that_ was something asterous.

"Impressive," Dinah said, nodding her head, before glancing at Reese skeptically. "Are you sure you haven't had this sonic scream before today?" Dick glanced at Reese from the corner of his eye and was internally relieved when Reese shook her head.

"Positive. I think I would've known if I had a power like yours," Dinah nodded again before a thoughtful look came over her face.

"How exactly did you figure out you had your own Canary Cry?" Dick saw Reese's muscles tense, and the girl took a deep breath before she spoke, quietly and almost sheepishly.

"I may...or may not...have accidentally shattered one of Bruce's chandeliers," Dinah just blinked for a second, before she started laughing. Dick and Reese stared, confused at Canary for a few minutes as Dinah caught her breath, and when she did she explained her actions.

"Don't worry, Reese," Dinah said consolingly, setting a hand on Dick's girlfriend's shoulders. "I'm not mad at you. I actually find it quite funny. Lord knows Wayne Manor needs some modernizing," Reese smiled hesitantly before Dinah clapped her hands together. "Okay! Now what we need to do is get you a new costume," Reese raised an eyebrow, and Dick glanced at Canary skeptically.

"A new costume?" Reese voiced Dick's own thoughts, and Dinah nodded. "Why would I need a new costume?" Dinah raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I figured with your shifting powers almost gone, you'd need a new identity, so to speak. Now, I know you probably already have a name picked out?" Reese nodded, and Dick whipped his head towards her. She already had a name? What was it? "Anyway, my point is, if you're going to be a new hero, you need a new costume. Like how Dick did when he became Nightwing," Reese glanced over at him, and Dick waved. Turning back to Dinah, Reese raised an eyebrow.

"Well, did you have any ideas?" she asked, and as a smirk grew on Dinah's face, Dick had a feeling that Canary had just the thing.

**\------**

"Dinah, I don't know," Reese's skeptical voice came from the changing room in the Arrowcave, making Dick glance up from where he was scrolling through his phone. "Are you sure this should be my new costume?" Dick quickly turned off his phone and turned towards Dinah, who was leaning against a computer desk.

"Why'd you have a design of Reese's new suit in the first place?" he asked, and Dinah shrugged.

"I had a feeling," she said, but Reese came out of the changing room before Dick was able to retort. Nightwing felt his mouth run dry when he caught Reese in her new costume and leaned against the desk next to Dinah.

Her new costume wasn't really a  _suit_ , in the term's of how Nightwing's was designed, it was basically a leather jacket and tight leather pants, with boots that covered her shins, and a pair of leather-like gloves. The bottom half of the jacket and sleeves, along with the pants were black, while the top half of the jacket was metallic silver in color, and so were some of the seams on her pants.

Instead of a zipper on the jacket, it was instead like corset laces, and the forearm sleeves were the same way.  On the back of Reese's jacket was a hood in the same ombre effect as the rest of her outfit. On the sides of her calves and right thigh were different sheaths for other weapons, should Reese ever need to use them. Reese also held a silver domino mask, much like the one she used when she was Silver X, though she wasn't wearing her new one.

"Reese, you look..." Dinah trailed off, leaving Dick to finish her sentence.

" _Amazing_ ," Reese tilted her head away, presumably to hide a blush, and Dick smirked. "Rhysalin, you look beautiful," 

"Dick's right, Reese," Dinah spoke up, making both vigilantes turn towards her. "This could be your new costume. Only if you want it to be, of course," Reese nodded, and Dick could see she was beginning to get excited.

"Of course," she said, holding a gloved hand in front of her face. "Canary, this is amazing!" Dinah suddenly looked sheepish as Reese pulled the gloves off and set them and the domino mask on the desk.

"Oh please," she said, waving a dismissive hand. "I only designed the costume. Oliver knew someone who was able to make this on such short notice. Now, you said you had a new name?" Dick turned towards Reese again as the girl nodded, her dark brown hair falling in front of her face. As Reese moved it out of the way, she looked up to meet Dick's eyes.

"Well, I was thinking...I don't  _really_ want to abandon the whole silver aspect of this, hence the costume color, so what about Silverbird? I actually thought about this as we were walking to your apartment. And, I mean, it kind of ties into the whole 'Canary Cry' shtick too," Dinah tapped a finger against her chin before she nodded.

"I like it," Canary said, before turning to Reese. "I can still train you in your sonic scream too if you want. It looks like you have surprisingly good control over it already, despite having it for less than four hours, but we can never be too careful," Reese thought about it for a moment before she shrugged.

"I think we're good for now, but I can give you a call if I need any help," Dinah nodded again.

"Okay then. Good luck. When I first got my Canary Cry, I almost deafened my first-grade class and tried to take a vow of silence. I obviously didn't follow through with it, but you see where I'm coming from, right?" Reese nodded.

"I do," she said quietly. "Thanks, Dinah. For everything. Now, do you have a duffel bag that I could use to put all this stuff in?" Dinah nodded before she reached under the desk and pulled out a dark green bag. Reese nodded again before she headed back into the changing room to put the clothes she came in back on. When she was out of sight, Canary turned to Dick.

"You know, this wasn't exactly what I thought you and Reese had come for help about," she said, and Dick glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"Really?" he asked. "What'd you think we came here for?" Dinah laughed a little before she spoke.

"I originally thought you and Reese had come for help about...well..." she trailed off, but Dick was able to catch her gist, and he felt his face begin to burn. She'd thought  _that_ was why they'd come to Star City? Really?

" _What_?" Dick managed to get out, and his voice was about two octaves too high. "Dinah! We haven't even-" he abruptly cut off when Dinah waved a hand in his face.

"Dick it's okay. But seriously, you can't blame me for thinking it," Dick ran a hand over his face. The face that was currently the same shade as the Flash's suit.

"Can we not talk about this right now?" he asked, and thankfully Reese walked out of the changing room before Dinah was able to say anything else. No longer wanting to stick around any longer than he had to, Dick grabbed Reese's hand and practically dragged her out of the Arrowcave.

"Bye Dinah!" Reese called back before they were outside again, and Dick dropped Reese's hand. "Bluebird, what was that about?" Dick opened his mouth to say something when he caught sight of something over Reese's shoulder. Three men, all wearing dark clothing, holding pistols, pointed straight at the two of them.

"Give us all your money, right now, and nobody has to get hurt," one of the men said, and Dick had a feeling he was the other two's "leader". He had a certain authority about him.

"Hmm, no," Dick said simply, tugging Reese's elbow so she stood next to him, but slightly behind. One of the other men looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Look, kid, we will shoot you. So hand over your money," Dick shrugged and put his hands in his pockets.

"Uh, nope, I don't think you will. Shoot me, that is," he gestured to the last man, who seemed to be shaking like a leaf. "That guy's probably never shot anybody before in his life. And you," he gestured again to the second man. "You're trying to be tough, but I can tell the biggest thing you've killed is probably your bank account going to Big Belly Burger.  _Might_ want to lay off the double-cheese for a while dude."

Dick heard Reese let out a barely contained snicker, and Nightwing smirked himself. That is until the leader's target shifted from the middle of Dick's forehead to Reese's heart. Dick's smirk abruptly dropped, but Reese gently pushed him out of the way and stood in the middle of the alley, leaving herself in plain view. Dick stared at her for a few seconds, before he realized what she was about to do, and almost pitied the would-be muggers. Almost, but not quite.

"I'd start running if I were you," he told the men, but the first only cocked his pistol, and curled his finger over the trigger. Reese dropped her duffel bag with her Silverbird costume onto the ground, where it landed with a thump, and Dick leaned against the alley's wall, crossing his arms. "Don't say I didn't warn you," Now, Dick would be lying if he said he wasn't still a bit worried about Reese getting shot by the muggers' leader, who looked like he belonged in the Falcone crime family, but he also knew that with Reese's new Canary Cry she'd be able to sweep all three men aside like leaves.

"You must really want to die, girlie," the leader said, his finger tightening ever so slightly around the trigger. But, Reese just rolled her eyes, opened her mouth, and screamed, letting loose a Canary Cry that threw all three men back to the entrance to the alley. Dick stepped up behind Reese and smirked down at the three men before he knelt down next to them and quickly swiped away their guns, making the weapons clatter against the ground.

" _Told_ you so," he sing-songed, smirking as the men glared at him. "You guys are definitely _not_ whelmed," One of the men, the second one, whom Dick had said the comment about Big Belly Burger too, stared at Reese, fear prominent in his wide eyes.

"You some sort of freaky meta-human? Like that Canary chick?" his voice shook up, and Dick and Reese exchanged a glance. Eventually, Reese shrugged.

"I don't know about the meta-human part," she said, meeting the man's eye as she knelt down next to Dick. She yanked the man's head up by his hair and stared him dead-in-the-eye. "But I can assure you, I'm no  _chick_ ," then, Reese let the man's head fall back to the ground before she stood up, Dick following. The two left the three men in the alley before they headed back onto the Star City sidewalk. As soon as they were in the sunlight, Dick swept Reese up into a deep kiss. He smiled down at her when they separated, both faces flushed.

"Now  _that_ was both badass and extremely asterous," Reese gave a laugh before they were both interrupted by her stomach growling, making Dick laugh himself. "Hungry?" Reese rolled her eyes before she grabbed Dick's hand and practically dragged him down the sidewalk.

"Well, duh, I wasn't able to get anything to eat when I woke up," Dick glanced at his phone screen for a second before turning back to Reese.

"Well, it  _is_ lunchtime," he said, before glancing at a brightly colored building about half a block down from where they were currently standing and smirking. Oh, the irony. "Want to hit up that Big Belly Burger?" the way Reese's eyes lit up when she heard him made Dick's heart skip a beat.

"Definitely," she said, before glancing back at him once and taking off down the street. "Race you there!" 

**Gotham Academy; March 30th, 06:15 EST**

Lauren

She was  _exhausted_. Gotham Academy's "research excursion" to the Metropolis S.T.A.R Labs had been postponed for a couple weeks because of testing at the school, but now here she, Jason, and Babs were, at six-fifteen in the morning, dozing on the steps of Gotham Academy, waiting for the teacher chaperones to finish their paperwork so all of them could get on the bus.

"Why are we  _here_?" Lauren pouted as she leaned her head against Jason's shoulder, her eyes half-closed. She felt Robin's jacketed shoulder rise and fall as he shrugged.

"I kind of wish we had gone to Central City," he said. "Maybe then we could see the Flash," Lauren's eyes opened and she leaned back to stare at Jason, one eyebrow raised.

"Jay-bird, you  _know_ the Flash. You know _Kid_ Flash. Heck, Bruce could have the entire  _Justice League_ over for an impromptu 'business dinner' at the press of a button," Jason shrugged again.

"I'm just saying," a tired voice from behind them jerked Lauren from her thoughts, and she turned to see a tired-looking Barbara Gordon lounging on a step behind them, looking like she was about to drop dead, she was so exhausted.

"Are you two done?" she asked, covering her mouth with a hand as she yawned, and Lauren winced.

"Yeah, sorry Babs," Batgirl waved a hand dismissively.

"Don't worry 'bout it," she said, before looking around. "Where's Dick?" Jason shrugged.

"The B-man called him and Reese out for a mission early this morning," he said quietly, so as not to alert the rest of the students to the secret activities going on underneath Wayne Manor. "Apparently, Clark had called, saying he needed them," Babs tilted her head.

"Did he say what for?" she asked, and Robin shook his head.

"No, just that it would be Nightwing, Silverbird, and Superboy who would be dealing with whoever was attacking Metropolis," Barbara tilted her head. 

"Metropolis? So Dick and Reese are already there?" Lauren nodded.

"That's what I figure," before any of them could say anything else, one of the chaperones stood up, using a megaphone so he was able to be heard.

"Attention students!" he cried, the megaphone magnifying his voice across the entire yard. "We will be leaving for S.T.A.R Labs in five minutes, so make sure you're all in your groups and have your permission slips ready," Everyone made their way onto the bus, handing their slips into the chaperone as they stepped up into it.

Jason and Lauren found a seat towards the middle of the bus, while Babs sat just behind them. Since Dick and Reese weren't able to be here, Barbara had apparently made it her mission to look after the two younger students, which Lauren was fine with. She liked Batgirl, mainly because Babs let her hack with her tech. What Reese didn't know couldn't hurt her, right?

Metropolis was only a couple of hours away, so in that time frame, Lauren got some much-needed shuteye on Jason's shoulder as Robin scrolled through his phone, trying to find information on what Dick, Reese, and Conner could possibly be doing.

Lauren was just falling into a deeper sleep when there was a loud crash, and her eyes snapped open and, along with everyone else that was on the school bus, whipped around to look out the left side, where there was suddenly a very large crater in the middle of the street. In the center of the crater was a muscular teenage boy with a black t-shirt with a red shield on it, that Lauren, Jason, and Babs all recognized.

"Conner," Lauren whispered as Superboy pulled himself to his feet, then super-jumped into the air, slamming his fist into the face of what looked like  _Superman_ , only the guy's skin looked like it was made of stone, and his face was horribly misshapen. The shield and S-symbol were also flipped.

"Bizarro," Lauren heard Babs say quietly before the doppelgänger of Superman let loose a stream of fire breath, and Superboy was only just able to dodge by leaping to the side. Eventually, Conner led Bizarro away from the school bus, and they all continued on their way, though the conversation was now filled to the brim with different theories on what was going on.

When the bus finally reached S.T.A.R Labs, the teacher quickly ushered everyone off the bus and into the building, where they were met with one of the researchers there.

"Hello, children!" the scientist cried in that overly perky voice that all adults used when they thought children were too stupid or young to understand what was going on. Lauren hated it. "Welcome to S.T.A.R Labs Metropolis. We are going to have  _so_ much fun today!" Lauren rolled her eyes and leaned towards Jason.

"If I have to listen to her perky voice anymore I'll have Reese Canary Cry my head," Jason gave a snicker as the scientist, who had just told them her name was "Dr. Natalie Gobacho", led them deeper into the building, starting the group's tour.

The first section they came to was a robotics exhibition, where another researcher was working with what looked like a robotic...dog? The scientist tapped a few buttons before suddenly thrusters appeared out of the dog's feet, and it hovered a few feet in the air. There was a collective gasp from the gathered students, and Lauren could see Babs looking almost like a kid in a candy store as she watched all the tech.

"This is our A.C.E project," Dr.Gobachov was saying as they walked past the room where A.C.E and the other scientist were working. "Being able to withstand both bullet and missile fire, A.C.E is being manufactured for military use over in the Middle East, to help with the war effort," Dr.Gobachov led them farther down the corridor, and when they were out of sight of A.C.E, Lauren leaned towards Jason.

"I want one," she whispered, and Jason snickered.

"Maybe we can talk Bruce into buying out the project," he whispered back, but they reached the next section before Lauren was able to respond. There wasn't any robotic dogs or rocket boots behind this eight-inch bullet-proof wall. The observation window only showed a large metal table, wherein the center lay a massive, yellow-gold...rock? It looked a bit like gold, but was more translucent, because Lauren could see the faint outline of the wall behind it. There was also a faint glow about the rock, and it seemed to pulse with golden light.

"What's this project?" Lauren spoke up and was a bit surprised when Dr. Gobachov didn't seem to hear her, just kept on walking. "Dr. Gobachov?" Lauren's teacher finally caught the scientist's attention, but it seemed to Lauren that she wasn't thrilled.

"Yes?" she asked, and Lauren gestured to the room where the gold rock was laying. 

"This room. What's in it?" Dr. Gobachov glanced through the observation window for a split second, before sighing and turning back to Lauren.

"That is one of our more...unstable projects. Aureum Carceris, an alien element found outside Metropolis earlier this year. Our head researcher decided to name it in Latin, meaning-"

"Golden Guard," Lauren said simply, and though Gobachov didn't look pleased with the interruption, she did look impressed that one of the "children" she was touring knew Latin. One of the perks of having an omnilingual sister, Lauren supposed.

"Why yes," Gobachov said. "Of course. Though we don't know yet what it is able to do," Lauren set her hand against the observation window and was surprised to find that the glass was a bit warm. The rock suddenly seemed to pulse a bit brighter the longer Lauren's hand was against the glass. Gobachov suddenly yanked Lauren's hand away from the window, and the light emanating from the Aureum Carceris stopped. "What we  _do_ know is that the Carceris is extremely dangerous, and should  _never_ be touched unless you are a practiced researcher," she weaved her way back to the front of the group, leaving Lauren and Jason standing in the middle of the hallway.

"You okay?" Robin asked Lauren once Gobachov was out of earshot. Lauren nodded. She didn't  _feel_ like anything was wrong. Sure, her left hand felt a little tingly where it had touched the glass, but nothing worse than that.

"I'm fine, Jay-bird," she said quietly. "Let's catch up to the others," as she and Jason made their way to reach their peers, Lauren ran her fingers along the observation window, this time with her right hand, and the same tingly feeling and brighter glow from the Carceris bled into Lauren's hand, and she abruptly yanked it away. There wasn't any ugly wounds or blisters on her palm, so what was going on?

**S.T.A.R Labs Metropolis; March 30th, 11:30 EST**

Three hours later, Dr. Gobachov finally led Jason and Lauren's class to the S.T.A.R Labs cafeteria for lunch, where the doctor set them loose. Running up to the line, Lauren turned to Jason.

"Don't you think Dr. Gobachov was a bit...off?" she asked, and Robin tilted his head.

"Off?" he echoed. "How so?" as she grabbed a plate, Lauren shrugged.

"I don't know. I just feel like she was a bit...cold," Jason laughed.

"You sure about that, Ren?" he asked. "If Gobachov seemed a bit...cold, wouldn't she be Killer Frost or someone like that?" Lauren rolled her eyes as she and Jason grabbed their food and went to sit down next to Babs at a table in the corner.

"I never said the  _ice-villain_ type of cold. More like the type that's too submerged with their work to care about much else," Jason raised an eyebrow.

"So, like Bruce's type of cold?" he asked, and Lauren tilted her hand in a so-so motion.

"I guess. But-" there was a crash, and Lauren stopped with a forkful of pasta halfway to her mouth as a wall on the other side of the room abruptly exploded,  and a figure was thrown through the new wall, and they thudded into the opposite wall, denting the metal. Lauren's breath caught when they recognized the vigilante with the bird decal spread across his chest. Nightwing.

"That smarts," Lauren could hear Dick's groan as he slumped against the ground, and Lauren, Jason, and Babs exchanged fearful glances. What exactly  _were_ Dick, Conner, and Reese up to here?

"Oh,  _Nightwing_ ," a voice called out, and Lauren wasn't able to recognize it. "Come out, come out wherever you are. I only want to sing you a little song," A woman stepped out of the hole in the wall that Dick had flown through, and Lauren's heart clenched when she recognized her. Silver Banshee. One of Superman's villain that had a sonic scream much like Black Canary's and Silverbird's, but much deadlier.

Lauren could see that Silver Banshee was getting ready to scream in Dick's face, and Nightwing hadn't moved at all. Lauren thought he must have cracked a few ribs when he slammed against the wall. Banshee opened her mouth, and Lauren saw the beginnings of a scream, but just as it exited her mouth, another figure dropped out a skylight from the top of S.T.A.R Labs' ceiling and matched the frequency with one of her own.

The two screams collided in a burst of sound, and Lauren, along with everybody else except for the two screamers, clapped their hands over their ears to try and block out the high-pitched hypersonic decibel wave.

Eventually, Silver Banshee seemed to run out of breath, and Silverbird's sonic cry made the villainess fly back and through the hole that she had made earlier. Silverbird stood up straight for a minute, before leaning over to catch her breath.

"About time you got here," Lauren heard Nightwing quip, and Reese stood up, her new hood pulled up over her head, shielding her face from view, though with the domino mask, you wouldn't be able to tell who she was anyway.

"I was so sure you could take care of yourself, Bluebird," Reese shot back, though her mouth was smirking. "Hmm, guess I was wrong," Most of the workers had fled the cafeteria when Nightwing had flown through the wall, but there were a few students, Jason, Babs, and Lauren included, who had stuck around for the action.

"All of you! Head outside," Nightwing shouted, his voice carrying in the room. "It's not safe in here," Lauren was about to run out when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned to see Reese standing behind her.

"You okay?" she asked, and Lauren gave a shaky nod before there was a sudden crackle, like when a fuse blows, and Reese and Dick's heads whipped towards each other before Reese quickly pushed Lauren and Jason out of the cafeteria. "Babs! Watch them!" Barbara gave a firm nod before Reese and Dick stood back-to-back in the cafeteria, the crackling sound getting closer.

Reese

Why Bizarro, Livewire, and Silver Banshee would team up on the same day, Reese had no idea. The latter two maybe, but Bizarro...no. The  _other_ clone of Superman from an opposite Earth (Htrae, to be exact) was never one to  _willingly_ team up with anyone. The only way he would was if someone, whoever wanted him to team up with them, said that they  _wouldn't_ be teaming up.

"Got a plan?" Reese heard Dick cry out as the two of them prepared to face Leslie Willis, Livewire, as she traveled through the wiring to their location. Reese had her recurve bow out and an arrow nocked, with her Canary Cry on standby, so to speak.

"Yeah, I got a plan," Reese said, drawing the bowstring back until it was stretched taught. "Don't die," She couldn't see Dick's eyes behind his mask lenses, but Reese knew that Nightwing was giving her a look that meant "are you insane?".

"That is  _not_ a plan, Argent," Dick said, readying his eskrima sticks as the crackling got closer, prompting the two of them to go back-to-back, watching every electrical appliance for the white-haired villainess. "Now if you were to say..." he was apparently going to give a plan, but the appearance of Livewire in front of them cut Dick off. "On second thought, not dying. That's a good plan," Reese rolled her eyes behind her mask, but before she was able to retort she had to dodge one of Livewire's ropes of electricity, and the lightning hit a nearby cash register, making the object explode.

"I find this whole encounter  _not_ whelming and extremely  _shocking_ ," Nightwing said as he leaped over a fallen table, dodging another rope of lightning, and Reese rolled her eyes.

"Seriously? Puns? Can you  _not_ possibly try and piss off the woman who could electrocute us into oblivion with a flick of her fingers?" Reese ducked behind the same table Dick was hiding behind and slapped him upside the head.

"Ow!" he cried, rubbing the back of his neck. "What was that for?" Reese gave him a look.

"Are you  _trying_ to get us killed?" she asked, but a table next to them exploded before Nightwing was able to answer. Reese and Dick exchanged a glance, and at that moment they thought up a plan by moving their eyes. A few minutes later, in which about six more tables exploded in a rough circle around the two of them, Nightwing held up three fingers, then counted down.

3...2...1...Reese jumped over the table and let loose a Canary Cry, sending Livewire reeling back. At the same time, Nightwing threw an eskrima stick and slammed it into the light switch, plunging the room into darkness. This way, it was slightly easier to see where Willis was standing, because her blue lightning lit up everything in the immediate vicinity for about fifteen seconds before she shot a rope of electricity.

Silverbird nocked a trick arrow and shot it at Livewire's feet, where the arrow exploded and smoke filtered out, giving Nightwing a prime chance to jump over the table, using his other eskrima stick to throw at Livewire, effectively distracting her for the precious few seconds that Dick needed to slide across the floor to grab both of his eskrima sticks.

As he battled with Leslie Willis, Reese went off to find Silver Banshee, who hadn't come back since Silverbird had blasted her through the wall. She wasn't sure where Conner and/or Bizarro had ended up, but it seemed like right now Reese had bigger things to deal with, because just as she caught the faint sound of a footstep with her super-hearing, a sonic scream almost deafened her. It didn't, luckily, but it did throw Silverbird several yards away, her ears ringing painfully.

Silverbird lifted her head wearily, making her hood fall around her shoulders, trying desperately to make her ears stop ringing. One of the downsides of having a sonic scream while also having super-hearing. Sensitive ears made for a twice as vulnerable hero.

Silver Banshee stood at the other end of the hallway, but with Reese's vision going in and out of focus, it seemed like only a split-second before Siobhan was standing right in front of Silverbird, one hand wrapped around Reese's throat, lifting her off the floor. Silverbird clawed at the long fingernails digging into the skin around her neck, but Silver Banshee was quickly cutting off Reese's airflow.

"Poor, _poor_ Silverbird," Banshee said, almost mockingly apologetic. "Was that a little too loud for you?" she leaned closer and dug her fingers underneath the edges of Reese's domino mask. "I think I deserve to see who you are underneath this mask, don't I?"

"Let..go..." Reese managed to gasp out as black spots began to rapidly invade her vision, but Silver Banshee only tightened her grip.

"I think the world deserves to know. Are you a superheroor a super- _weirdo?_ " though, before Banshee was able to pry off Reese's mask, she suddenly seized up and dropped to the ground, unconscious. Reese stumbled back, trying to get oxygen back into her lungs, and as her vision cleared she caught sight of Nightwing standing behind where Siobhan had been moments before. Reese figured Dick must have electrocuted her with one of his eskrima sticks, causing her to fall unconscious.

"You okay?" she could hear Dick whisper, and Reese gave a shaky nod. She felt Nightwing move her braid out of the way and run his fingers down the side of her neck, making Reese flinch. When Silver Banshee had been choking her, her nails must have broken the skin on Reese's neck, leaving half-moon shaped indents.

"Nightwing, I'm fine," Reese said quietly. "It just stings," Dick still looked skeptical, but there wasn't really any time for him to argue with her on it, because there was a roar of anger that came from outside, and both Reese's and Dick's heads snapped up. Looked like Conner and Bizarro were back.

When they burst out the front door, they found Superboy running full-tilt towards the other clone, but had to leap to the side to avoid one of Bizarro's streams of freeze vision, the opposite of Clark Kent's own heat vision.

"Hey!" Silverbird cried, but found that it hurt her throat when she yelled too much. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" That might not have been the best argument, because not even Conner was the same size as the villainous "Superman".

"Bizarro am not going to squash you!" their adversary cried before he sent a wave of fire-breath towards Silverbird and Nightwing, prompting the both of them to dive out of the way. Reese rolled to a stop on the opposite side of Bizarro as Dick, and quickly nocked an arrow and shot it towards Bizarro, and it split into a bola before wrapping around the clone's feet and making him fall to the ground. 

On the edge of her hearing, Reese heard a sudden crackle and knew that Livewire was standing right behind her, getting ready to give Silverbird a major shock. 

"Hey!" she called to Bizarro, standing up. "I'm not going to defeat you! You will always win!" Reese could see that Bizarro was getting angry, but Silverbird wrapped one hand around her neck when it began to burn as she talked. Bizarro's eyes turned a glowing white, and he shot twin beams of freeze vision towards her, but Reese dove out of the way, and the beams hit Livewire, instantly freezing her in a massive block of ice. Two down, one to go. Reese stumbled onto her hands and knees as she rolled to a stop, the burning in her throat getting worse. And now it was getting hard to breathe.

"Superboy!" Silverbird could hear Dick cry over from where he and Conner were standing by Bizarro. "Get out of the way!" Superboy backed up, and Nightwing opened a compartment in his utility belt and took out a glowing blue rock, holding it out towards Bizarro. Blue Kryptonite. The Bizarro-version of Green Kryptonite. It couldn't hurt Conner but would be able to strip him of his half-Kryptonian powers for as long as he was close to it. Bizarro, on the other hand, collapsed to the ground unconscious, and as soon as he was knocked out Dick quickly put the glowing blue stone back into his utility belt, turning around to wish Conner a mission accomplished.

But, it wasn't time for celebrating just yet. Because something was wrong.

Reese couldn't breathe.

Dick

Nightwing locked the Blue Kryptonite securely into his utility belt and turned to thank Conner for letting him and Reese help out when a sudden cacophony of yelling caught his attention, and Dick turned to see a crowd gathered on the far side of S.T.A.R Labs' parking lot, looking down at something on the asphalt.

Three figures pushed their way out of the crowd, and when Dick recognized them as Babs, Jason, and Lauren, and when he saw their faces, and how scared and grave they looked, he began to run, Conner right on his heels.

"She won't wake up," Jason burst out, his voice shaking. "Nightwing, something's wrong with her," Dick shoved his way through the gathered students, teachers, and researchers/scientists to reach the center of the gathered crowd, where he realized that the thing that everybody had been looking at was Reese.

She lay, crumpled on the ground, eyes closed behind her mask, hood down around her shoulders. Nightwing quickly knelt down next to her and set one gloved hand on Reese's pale cheek, and he almost had a heart attack when Silverbird's eyes flew open and she sat up with a gasp. But, when she kept gasping, Dick knew there was something wrong. She couldn't breathe.

Conner quickly made the crowd disperse, but Jason, Lauren, and Barbara hovered close by. Kneeling down next to Nightwing, Superboy stared at Silverbird for a moment before his eyes widened.

"Nightwing," Conner said quietly, making Dick look up. "Look at her neck," Dick quickly moved Reese's hair out of the way, and his jaw clenched when he saw that the fingernail indents from when Silver Banshee had been choking Reese had turned a dark, midnight black, with black lines running out from each of them. Poison. Reese had been poisoned.  _Again_.

"Dammit," Dick swore under his breath, and his temper got even shorter when Conner's eyes grew even wider than they already were.

"Dick," he said Nightwing's name quietly so no one else would overhear. "Reese's heartbeat..." he trailed off, and Dick desperately hoped that Superboy wasn't about to say what he thought he was. "...it's getting slower,"

Nightwing swore even more colorfully before he lifted Silverbird up into his arms, bridal-style, and started running towards where he had parked his motorbike early this morning when he and Reese had first arrived in Metropolis.

"Call Batman," he told the interface as he set Reese down on the seat, before climbing on behind her. Revving the engine, Nightwing sped out of Metropolis, heading towards Happy Harbor, and Mount Justice. In reality, Metropolis was a little over three hours from Rhode Island, but with the speed boosts that Bruce had put on everyone's motorbikes, and the fact that Dick broke about seventy traffic laws, the trip didn't seem like that long.

"What is it, Nightwing?" Batman's voice came through his helmet's speakers, sounding a bit pissed off. "I'm in the middle of an important meeting on the Watchtower to discuss the missing sixteen hours and-"

"Reese was poisoned!" Dick cried, cutting Bruce off and effectively interrupting him. "Silver Banshee. She must have had something coating her fingernails because she was choking Reese and her nails cut the skin." This time, the Bats' voice sounded a bit more concerned.

"Where are you headed?"

"Happy Harbor," Nightwing said briskly as he weaved in between two semi trucks and about six other cars. "Mount Justice might be able to help,"

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Batman spoke. "She'll be okay, Dick," he said, almost a whisper, and Dick sighed.

"I hope so," he whispered, half to himself, before speaking to Bruce again. "Nightwing out," Dick glanced down at Reese's limp form and tightened his hold around her ever so slightly. 

She had to be okay. She just  _had_ to be.

Because Nightwing wouldn't settle for anything else.


	14. Chapter 13...Honor Thy Mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another intruder breaks into the cave, and their identity shocks the Team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, this was NOT where I was planning on going with this chapter. Originally, it had something to do with Lauren and the Aureum Carceris, but my fingers just typed...and typed...and typed...and this is the result. ENJOY! (please don't kill me for this)

**Happy Harbor; March 30th, 12:40 EST**

Dick

Nightwing's motorbike tore through the streets of Happy Harbor, driving at least eighty-five miles per hour, which normally would be considered  _extremely_ dangerous to him and any civilians/pedestrians that were around, but right now Dick didn't care.

They were running out of time. Reese had since stopped convulsing, but she was now lying limply, but securely between Dick's waist and the handles of his bike, and the half-moon indents on the side of Silverbird's neck from Silver Banshee's neck were getting darker by the minute. Finally,  _finally,_ Dick caught sight of the base of Mount Justice, and he barked into his helmet's mic, which was connected to the cave's computer.

"Cave! Open bay doors. Priority Alpha!"

**Recognized Nightwing B01, Silverbird B10**

The doors hadn't even opened halfway before Dick had torn through them, making his bike skid to a stop in the garage next to the wall. The Team was in the main cave, training, but they stopped what they were doing when they caught sight of Nightwing carrying Reese's limp form bridal-style in his arms, the archer's head lolling to the side.

"What happened?" Kaldur cried, running over to Dick's side. It had taken a while, but Aqualad and Nightwing had sort of made up for their...animosity. It helped Dick to remember that before everything else had happened, Aqualad had been Reese's best friend, and, despite how much he hated it, Nightwing wanted to rekindle the comradery between him and his leader. Not to say it wasn't difficult, because it was, but if Dick and Kaldur wanted any hope in getting the Team back to full-strength, it meant they had to trust each other.

"Silver Banshee," Dick said simply as he carried Reese through the cave towards the med-bay. "When we were in Metropolis with Conner. She must have had some sort of poison coating her fingernails because when she was choking Reese, her nails broke the skin and some of the poison must have gotten into Reese's throat," Dick set her down on an empty hospital bed, and quickly set up an IV and the heart monitor.

His breath caught when Nightwing saw how erratic Reese's heartbeat was. Almost 120 beats per minute. Reese's neck was almost completely black, dark lines spider-webbing out from each indent.

"Pilocarpine," Dick whispered, and Kaldur glanced at him.

"What?" Dick left Reese's side and began rustling through a large medicinal cabinet, jostling the glass bottles and containers around with each movement of his gloved hands. Where was it? Where was it?

"Pilocarpine," Nightwing repeated, louder this time. "The antidote for belladonna poisoning. Siobhan Smythe, Silver Banshee's civilian identity, is originally from Ireland, and nightshade is the only poison I can think of that would react with Reese like this.  _Yes_!" he cried out almost gleefully, finally locating the pilocarpine, as it was hidden almost to the back wall of the cabinet. Nightwing stood up and walked back towards Reese and Kaldur, but before he was able to pour some of the medicine into Silverbird's mouth, she began to convulse, her erratic movements making the hospital bed shake.

Dick quickly set the bottle down on a nearby table and ran over to Reese's side, glancing once at the heart monitor, only to see that Reese's heartbeat had gotten faster, when it suddenly flatlined, the single droning tone entering Nightwing's eardrum's and reverberating around in his head. 

"We're losing her!" Kaldur said, his voice grave before he electrified one of his hands and slammed it down on Reese's chest, making her body jerk, but aside from that nothing else happened. Dick's head snapped up as he suddenly remembered something.

"Her jacket!" he cried. "It blocks electrical charges. Dinah designed it. It protects against fire, water damage...anyway, my point is, if we want to save her we need to take it off," Wasting no time, Nightwing reached forward and unlaced the front of Reese's Silverbird jacket, making the garment fall around her shoulders. Underneath, Reese was only wearing a black sports bra, but the situation was too dire for Dick to care. "Try again," he told Kaldur, and Aqualad nodded before his eel tattoos glowed for a second time, and his hand landed on Reese's chest, acting as a sort of defibrillator.

Reese jerked again before there was the sound of the heart monitor beeping. Dick and Kaldur waited a few seconds, and the monitor beeped again, prompting Nightwing and Aqualad to both let out separate sighs of relief.

She was still unconscious but was still alive, and for that Dick was grateful. He took the small bottle of pilocarpine from its spot on the table and opened the stopper before dripping a few drops into Reese's mouth, and massaging the sides of her neck where there weren't any nail marks so she would swallow it. Finally, ever so slowly, Nightwing began to see the black lines around Reese's neck begin to recede.

"That was too close," Aqualad said firmly once Reese had settled, her heartbeat still going a bit too fast, but for now they had nothing to worry about. Dick, from where he was standing by Reese's side, gave a solemn nod.

"Tell me about it," he said quietly, his fingers wrapped tightly around Reese's own limp ones. "I'm pretty sure I broke at least sixty-five traffic laws trying to get here in time," Kaldur looked like he wanted to say something, what exactly, Dick didn't know, but nonetheless the Zeta tube turned on, cutting off his words.

**Recognized Batman 02, Black Canary 13, Superboy B04, Robin B11, Batgirl B13, Lauren Michaels A33**

Nightwing and Aqualad made their way out of the med-bay and into the main cave, where they met up with Bruce, Dinah, Conner, Jason, and Babs, who were all now in uniform, and Lauren, plus the rest of the Team, who were staring at the two of them, obviously waiting for a verdict.

"She's going to be okay," Kaldur said firmly, and Dick smiled a bit when he saw that everyone let out huge sighs of relief, even Batman, though he was more reserved in scale. Dick stepped forward and pulled up the security footage from the S.T.A.R Labs in Metropolis, also opening the files the Justice League had on Silver Banshee, Livewire, and Bizarro.

"Reese is resting for now, but what we need to do is figure out why these three particular villains decided to attack S.T.A.R Labs at once," Aqualad nodded and came to stand by Nightwing's side.

"Silver Banshee and Livewire have teamed up together before, but Bizarro is not normally one to team up, so to speak, with other villains. His logic does not allow it," Dick nodded, then turned to Superboy.

"Conner, what did you find out from Bizarro about the attack on S.T.A.R Labs?" the C.A.D.M.U.S clone crossed his arms from where he was standing next to Miss Martian and narrowed his eyes.

"Not much," he grumbled. "Bizarro kept talking in that weird way of his, but I remember something about him saying that the three of them  _wouldn't_ get the blue-purple rock from S.T.A.R Labs, but there was never any project that had to do with any 'blue-purple rock'," Nightwing tilted his head, trying to think of what the three villains could have been looking for, but a small voice from the edge of where everyone gathered cut through Dick's thoughts, and he turned to see Lauren standing just behind Jason's shoulder, arms wrapped around herself, looking a bit sheepish.

"I think...I  _may_ know what they were looking for," she said quietly, and Nightwing straightened up, his ears perked with interest.

"What is it?" Bruce asked, his voice sounding oddly concerned, though Dick understood why. Two years ago in July, right after the explosion at the Metropolis History Museum and Reese had been put into a coma for three weeks, Reese and Lauren's parents had been killed by a bomb in Keystone, set by the now-deceased Luke Racer. After staying with the first Flash, Jay Garrick, and his wife Joan for a few months, Lauren had moved into Wayne Manor along with her sister since they already knew Batman's, Robin's, and Nightwing's secret identities, and they didn't really have anywhere else to go.

As it were, Dick was glad the two of them had decided to stay with him, Bruce, and Jason. And Alfred, of course.

"There wasn't a  _blue-purple_ rock," Lauren said quietly, and Nightwing looked up at her. "It was  _gold_ ," Dick missed the way both Jason and Babs' heads snapped towards Lauren, but he bounced his palm off the side of his head and turned back towards the holo-computer.

"Of  _course_!" Nightwing shouted, for a moment forgetting that there were other people around him, and quickly exited out of the three villains' files. "How could I have forgotten?" He instead opened one displaying all the exhibitions that S.T.A.R Labs was putting on during that month. Pulling up a news headline from a couple weeks ago, Dick read out the article. 

" 'After finding a strange alien-like rock outside of Metropolis last week, Dr. Natalie Gobachov of S.T.A.R Labs has taken the golden stone to be researched further by her fellow scientists. Gobachov has said that the rock, named Aureum Carceris by another scientist, has the potential for a future energy source. Possibly even more...' "As he finished reading the article, Nightwing turned as Jason spoke up.

"Batgirl, Lauren and I met Dr. Gobachov when we were on the field trip," Robin said grimly, his mask lenses widened in realization. "She also seemed really...scared, I guess you could say when Lauren had put her hand on the observation window," Batman's and Nightwing's heads whipped towards Reese's younger sister, who suddenly looked very sheepish.

"You  _touched_ it?" Bruce growled, and almost everyone in the room shuddered at the anger that was lacing his voice. Everyone except for Lauren.

"No. I didn't  _touch it,"_ she shot back, eyes narrowed dangerously. "I touched the observation window  _around_ the Aureum Carceris," Despite the situation, Dick had to commend Lauren on her spunk and bravery. No one else, save for maybe Reese, Alfred, and Diana, could stand up to the Batman when he was pissed off. Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily.

"Lauren, I'm not mad at you. We just don't know how dangerous the Aureum Carceris is yet," a smirk came onto Lauren's lips, and Dick had a feeling she had a plan.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that, Batman," she said before she reached into her jacket and pulled out a lightly glowing rock that was about the size of Lauren's head. Dick's eyes widened.

"You brought the Aureum Carceris  _here_?" Nightwing burst out, barely daring to believe it. Was she  _stupid_? Bruce spoke up next.

"More importantly, did you just  _find_ this lying on the ground, or did it somehow miraculously disappear from its display case?" Lauren suddenly looked at the ground and shuffled her feet, making both Nightwing and Batman sigh in exasperation.

"Lauren..." Dick trailed off because of a flash of movement from behind Black Canary that caught his attention. It wasn't Reese, he knew that she was still resting in the infirmary, but it still looked humanoid, and the Zeta tube hadn't announced anyone else that was arriving, so who was it? Nightwing left the rest of the Team to look over the rest of the article, while he grabbed his eskrima sticks out of their holster and slipped away down the hallway where he had seen the shadow figure disappear.

It only took a few steps down the hallway before Dick realized he was heading towards the infirmary, and he started sprinting. Just as he was about to enter the infirmary, Nightwing heard the tell-tale sound of a cocking gun, and he burst through the door and grabbed the shadow figure's weapon and jerked it upwards as they pulled the trigger, making the bullet lodge into the wall about six inches from Reese's head.

The shadow figure, who was dressed in all black and had a mask that covered their entire face, jerked around and tackled Dick to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. As Nightwing was trying to catch his breath, the figure wrapped a gloved hand around Dick's throat and began to squeeze, cutting off his airflow.

As he spluttered, Nightwing turned one of his eskrima sticks over in his hand, subtly pressing the button that electrified it, before flipping it around and jabbing the end into the side of the shadow figure, making them abruptly release their grip, leaving Dick on the floor, coughing for breath. He flipped up to his feet and stood over the fallen form of whoever this shadow figure was. Dick reached down to slip off their mask, but one hand, which was suddenly covered in a metallic glove, swiped him aside, and Nightwing flew into the wall, the plaster cracking beneath his weight.

Apparently, when the gun had gone off, the rest of the Team and Lauren had run into the infirmary and were now staring as Nightwing grappled with the shadow figure. They could've interfered, but Dick had it handled, trying to stop the figure from killing Reese.

"Nightwing!" Batman's voice cut through the commotion, but Dick didn't listen. The shadow figure held up the gun, pointing it at Reese again, and as they fired, Batman whipped out a batarang, and Bruce somehow managed to knock both the bullet out of the air and the firearm from the shadow figure's hand. Dick knew Bruce was precise with his shots but  _damn_ that was a good one. Nightwing climbed to his feet and slammed the shadow figure to the wall.

"Who are you?" he growled, his voice low and deadly. Dick was tired of this game. He needed answers, and he needed them  _now_. The shadow figure's eyes, which were the only visible feature of their face, moved in a way that made Dick they were probably raising an eyebrow. Another thing, the eyes were a deep chocolate brown, with long, thick lashes that reminded Nightwing distinctly of Reese.

"He won't say it again," Batman's deep voice sounded from just behind Dick's shoulder. "I'd answer him if I were you," The figure gave a single, firm nod, and Nightwing dropped them, where they landed on the floor with a thump. Reaching up for their mask, the figure slipped the fabric off, and Dick stumbled back in shock as the rest of the Team sucked in a startled breath, including Batman.

The figure, whom Dick had now identified as a woman, looked like an older version of Reese. The two of them had the same long, dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes, but Nightwing noticed small differences. While Reese was only a couple inches shorter than him, three inches at the most, Dick figured that this woman, whoever she was, was almost twice that much.

Another detail, while Reese's eyes were warm and sparkling with whatever new knowledge she had learned that day, which was one of the things Dick loved about her, the shadow woman's eyes were cold and sharp, with hardly any emotion showing through them. 

A strangled cry sounded from behind Dick, and Nightwing turned to see Lauren standing stock-still, a hand covering her mouth as tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Jason stepped up beside her and set a comforting hand on Reese's sister's shoulder as Lauren managed to choke out a single word.

" _Mom_?"

**Mount Justice; March 30th, 17:20 EST**

Reese

The first thing Reese saw when she woke up was fluorescent lights shining down at her. Sitting up slowly, Reese clamped one hand against her head as a headache lanced through it, but the pain dissipated quickly.

The second thing Reese noticed, was Nightwing leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and his mask lenses were narrowed as if he were thinking hard about something. Dick was also staring directly at the wall, so he didn't notice her immediately.

"Bluebird," Reese said quietly, and couldn't help but notice that her voice was hoarse. Dick's head snapped up and he rushed to her side.

"Hey," he whispered softly, cupping her cheek with his hand. "It's been a few hours since Metropolis. We almost lost you once. How are you feeling?" Reese thought for a moment.  _Was_ she okay?  She  _was_ just poisoned by one of the deadliest plants known to man. After a few moments, Reese gave a small nod.

"I think so," she said quietly, glancing up at Dick. "I mean, my throat's still a little sore but...Dick, are you okay?" Nightwing's eyes may have been covered by his domino mask, but Reese had known Dick long enough to know when something was bothering him. His fists would clench, and his jaw would tighten, both of which were happening at this very moment. "Richard, if this is about what happened at S.T.A.R Labs, then-"

"No," Dick abruptly cut her off. "No, it's not that. Before you woke up, someone broke into the cave. We caught them, obviously, but..." he trailed off and sighed heavily before he pressed a searing kiss to Reese's lips for a split-second before leaning back.

"Not that I mind it," Reese whispered, still a bit light-headed from the kiss. "Because I don't. But, what was that for?" Dick reached up and took off his mask, giving Reese a full view of his cerulean eyes.

"Rhysalin, the person who broke into the cave? It was your mother," At that moment, everything seemed to go in slow motion for Reese. The intruder at the cave? Her  _mother_? Impossible, her mother was dead. Had been for the past two years.

"You're lying," Reese said, her voice barely more than an expelled breath, but Dick caught it anyway, and Silverbird felt hot tears prick the corners of her eyes when she saw Nightwing shake his head, eyes filled with sympathy.

"I'm not, Rhysalin," he said quietly. "Your mother's  _alive_. Trust me when I say that I would give almost  _anything_ to see my parents again," Dick reached down and grabbed Reese's hands with each of his. Reese knew that Dick missed his parents desperately, but she had a chance to see  _one_ of hers again. Was it really worth the risk? Of seeing that maybe this woman really  _isn't_ her and Lauren's mother?

"I don't know Bluebird," Reese said quietly, her forehead pressed against Dick's. "What if she doesn't..." she trailed off, because what was she going to say? Reese really didn't have anything to say about her mother  _not_ wanting to do something. Nightwing gave her a small smile before he pressed his lips to hers again, this time softer, and more loving. Reese kissed back, and for a split-second, she couldn't help but feel like this was going to be one of her and Dick's last kisses for a while. But, that feeling vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

After they separated, Dick sighed.

"She wants to speak with you," he said quietly. "Your mother. She wants to talk with you and Kaldur," Reese glanced up at Dick through her eyelashes and gave him a quizzical look.

"Kaldur?" she asked. "Why does he have to be there?" Dick shrugged.

"Beats me," he said. "Your mother wanted to wait until you woke up though," Reese bit her lip, but she eventually nodded. If her mother truly was alive, then she supposed it would be a good idea to talk with her, right?

Seeing as how she was still a little unsteady on her feet, Dick helped Reese stand and led both of them out of the med-bay towards the main cave, where the rest of the Team, Lauren, Black Canary, Batman, and...her  _mother_. Dick had been right. Her mother really was alive.

Reese pressed a hand against her mouth as she felt the hot tears from earlier fill the corners of her eyes all over again. She felt Dick tighten his hold on her waist reassuringly as everyone turned to them. Rochelle Michaels, in all her living glory, stood at the front of the group, a small half-smile on her face. Reese had gotten pretty good at reading people since she had been living with the Bat and his Birds if she did say so herself, and she couldn't help but feel like there was something... _off_ , about the way her mother was acting.

She seemed stiff...and colder than normal. Dick and Reese walked forward, but Nightwing abruptly dropped his hold when Rochelle sent him a wicked-looking glare, and Reese was shocked. Before, her mother had  _never_ acted like this. Hell, she'd been best friends with Kaldur for almost three years before they had started dating, and her mother had never had a problem with that. So, what was different?

"Reese," her mother's voice was quiet, and it sounded a bit closer to her normal self, but there was still something wrong with the way she was acting. "It's been too long," Reese felt her face move into an emotionless expression, and she stared hard at her mother.

"It has," Reese said coldly in response. "A lot can happen when you think one of your parents is dead," for a moment Reese could've sworn she saw anger flash across Rochelle's face before it was gone just as quickly as it had been there in the first place.

"I will explain everything," her mother said adamantly. "But I need to speak with you and Aqualad first," that should've been the first red flag. Whenever Reese and Kaldur had hung out before, Rochelle had always called Kaldur... _Kaldur_ , instead of Aqualad. Nonetheless, Reese didn't notice the faint behavior change, and she and Aqualad followed Rochelle into the room where Canary did her therapy sessions.

"Okay," Reese said once the doors had slid shut behind them. She leaned against the glass wall, arms crossed and eyes cold. "Where exactly have you been for the past two years, and why haven't you shown up until now?" her mother let out a small gasp before she sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, looking down at the floor. "If I was able to see you, I would have. I promise. I don't even know how I ended up  _here_ in the first place," Kaldur spoke up from where he was standing by one of the chairs.

"Nightwing said he found you in the infirmary, standing over Reese's bed, about to  _shoot_ her," Reese snapped her eyes towards her mother, her breath coming in short gasps and she edged closer to Kaldur. Her mother had tried to  _kill_ her? Rochelle must've noticed the terrified look on her daughter's face because she quickly held up her hands in what Reese presumed to be a surrender gesture.

"No!" she cried, and her voice's volume shocked Reese. And Kaldur too, if the way his muscles tensed next to her was any indication. "I wasn't going kill you. Reese, I would  _never_ hurt you. I love you too much, you know that, right?" Reese gave a shaky nod but was still apprehensive about everything that had happened in the past fifteen minutes.

"Why did you have the gun, then?" she asked quietly, and Rochelle sighed.

"The first slot held a tranquilizer, with a medicinal herb inside. It would've helped you heal faster. It would've worked too had that  _Nightwing_ not interfered. Are you sure he loves you?" For a few seconds, Reese went slack-jawed, she was so shocked. She opened her mouth to say something, what she wasn't sure, it was probably going to be some sort of argument, but Kaldur interrupted before she could.

"I have interacted with both Nightwing and Reese multiple times since they began their relationship at New Year's. And, I have known both of them long enough to know that their partnership is one of the strongest on the Team. Nightwing has also risked his own life numerous times to make sure your daughter was okay, and vice versa. So, yes," he suddenly glared at Rochelle, his pale green eyes hard with determination. "I do believe that Nightwing loves Reese. Very much,"

Reese was shocked. She didn't think that Aqualad had noticed that much. She also knew that Dick and Kaldur had been trying to mend their animosity as of late, but Reese hadn't realized they had become a sort of friends. Rochelle also seemed a bit shell-shocked by Kaldur's outburst, because she just stood there for a moment, blinking before she shook her head as if clearing her thoughts.

"Of course, of course," she said quickly waving her hands. "I only wondered if Reese were sure," There were a few minutes more of potentially awkward silence, but eventually Rochelle cleared her throat, making Reese look up at her.

"What is it?" Reese asked, still a bit pissed off from earlier. Rochelle gave her a small smile and looked almost sheepish.

"I know we haven't connected as a family...you, me, and Lauren, for almost three years-"

"Understatement," Reese cut her off, and Rochelle's face fell for a moment before she continued.

"Everything else aside, I  _would_ like to become your mother again. Lord only knows what _activities_ you get up to in that Manor with three males," Reese was sure that last part was meant for only Rochelle's ears, but Reese still had her super-hearing, and her eyes narrowed dangerously at her  _mother's_ words.

"What are you proposing?" she asked coldly, and Rochelle sighed.

"I want you and Lauren to come live with me again. Reese, we can be a family," Now, Reese would be lying if she said she wasn't tempted. Her mother, alive and well, wanted to live with her and Lauren? They could be a family again. Like nothing had ever happened to change it.

"No," Reese said firmly, and both Kaldur's and Rochelle's heads snapped towards her.

" _No_?" Rochelle echoed, her voice having a strange, almost evil-sounding undertone. "What do you mean,  _no_?" Reese crossed her arms again and leaned against the glass wall, eyes hard.

"I  _mean_ , I don't want to live with you. I'm fine in Gotham, thank you very much," Rochelle gave a dry chuckle, and Reese subconsciously balled her fists, her fingers digging into her biceps. Whoever this woman was, she was  _not_ Reese and Lauren's mother.

"Sweetheart, I don't see how you have much choice," Rochelle said, almost softly, and Reese glared at her. 

"Excuse me?" she asked, and her "mother" sighed, almost disapprovingly, as if she were talking to a child. 

"Reese, you are not yet eighteen. Until your birthday next March,  _I_ am your guardian. No matter what you may think about that _Bruce Wayne_ and his boys," Reese was  _this_ close to just saying 'screw it', and blowing a Canary Cry in Rochelle's, or whoever she was, face.

"Rochelle, I do not think that this is the wisest decision..." Kaldur was apparently trying to cool the angry tension suddenly crackling through the room, and Reese was partly grateful to him for that, but she was too pissed off at the woman in front of her right now to thank him. Nonetheless, the woman's head snapped towards Reese's Atlantean friend, her eyes cold with barely-suppressed anger.

"Watch your tongue... _Atlantean_ ," Reese balked forward, but Kaldur flashed out an arm and held her back. That woman, whoever the hell she turned out to be, was pure  _evil_ , at least in Reese's opinion. 'Rochelle' flashed a small smug, smile at Reese for a split second, before her eyes turned back into the meek ones they had been when Kaldur and Reese had first walked into the therapy room. "Shall we go out then?" she asked, basically  _daring_ Reese to argue with her on it.

" _Fine_ ," Reese growled, her temper barely kept in check. "Let's go,"

The three of them headed out of the therapy room and back out into the main cave, where the rest of the Team was waiting for them. Reese had no doubt that they had been listening in on their conversation through the security cameras if Dick and Jason's angry faces were any indication of that.

' _Are you okay?_ ' M'gann's comforting voice entered Reese's thoughts through the mind-link, and Reese sighed in her head, while also keeping her face expressionless.

' _Not really._ ' Reese said softly. ' _This whole thing is bull-shit. I'm glad my mother is back, because who wouldn't? But, something just seems...off. I'm not sure though._ '

' _I have known your mother a long time, Reese,_ ' Kaldur's voice spoke through the mind-link next, and Reese glanced at Aqualad from the corner of her eye. ' _But you are correct. She is acting differently than normal. Not like the Rochelle both you and I knew.'_

 _'Maybe it has something to do with her coming back from the dead?'_ Wally's question was a valid one, but no one was able to answer, because Reese and Lauren's "mother" spoke up before anyone was able to _give_ KF an answer.

"Girls, are you ready to go? We need to get to the house before nightfall," Reese's head snapped up, and her eyes met Nightwing's for a split second, and though she couldn't see Dick Grayson's dark azure-colored eyes, Reese knew that his eyes held a million questions, none of which she had answers for. Eventually, Reese sighed.

"Yeah," she said, glancing once at the woman who said she was her mother, before looking down at her feet. "We should probably get going," Reese could feel both Dick and Bruce's eyes drilling into the sides of her head, but she couldn't bring herself to look up. "Rochelle" grabbed onto one of Reese's and one of Lauren's arms, and began to drag them towards the Zeta tubes.

"Wait!" a voice called out, and the three turned around to find Nightwing standing in front of everyone else, his face an expressionless mask, as it always was when Dick was trying to suppress his real emotions. 

"Yes?" Rochelle asked, and tightened her hold on Reese's arm, so much that it began to hurt. "Is there something you needed, Nightwing?"

"Reese is not yet fully healed from the attack in Metropolis," Aqualad supplied, stepping forward to stand at Dick's side. "We should keep her here in the cave until she is fully recovered," Rochelle's hold tightened even more, and Reese had to clench her teeth together to stop from crying out in pain.

"I think I can handle it, Aqualad," Rochelle said coldly, before roughly dragging Reese and Lauren into the Zeta tubes.

**Recognized Silverbird B10, Lauren Michaels A33, Recognizing...Recognizing...Recognizing...**

The last thing Reese saw before the Zeta tubes golden light engulfed the three of them was Dick's face, his mask lenses wide, and she couldn't help but notice that he looked strangely...scared. Which Reese understood because she wasn't entirely hung up on this herself.

**Star City; March 30th, 18:15 EST**

Rochelle dragged Reese and Lauren out of the Zeta tube and practically threw the two of them to the ground. Reese felt a sudden hot rush of anger run through her, and she whipped around to throw a Canary cry in her "mother's" face, but the sudden feeling of something heavy, cold, and metallic around her neck stopped Reese in her tracks. She felt around the base of her neck and froze when she recognized the definite shape of a...

"You put an  _inhibitor collar_ on me?" she cried, but "Rochelle" only smirked, and took a small remote out of her pocket, before pressing the red button in the center of the remote, and suddenly volts of electricity were running through Reese's veins, and she collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony as she felt her nerves quiver under the amount of electrical power.

"You're lucky that's all I'm doing, you  _bitch_ ," the woman growled, yanking Reese up by her hair. Lauren stood, stock-still and terrified, next to the zeta tube. Through her rapidly darkening vision, Reese saw her sister glance at the transport system for a second and looked ready to jump back in, but a single warning from the woman holding Reese hostage stopped her in her tracks.

"I wouldn't. Unless you want the only family you have left to get electrocuted into next week," Lauren stood down, and Reese tilted her eyes up to look into the woman's own.

"Who  _are_ you?" she asked, and the woman smirked. 

"Who I am doesn't matter right now. Though, I do believe you know one of my associates," she glanced down the alley and Reese clenched her fists. "You can come out now!" a figure stepped out of the shadows, and Reese's breath caught, as Lauren let out a small scream.

"Hey, pretty bird," Guiliano Sporelli said slyly, kneeling down until he and Reese were eye-level. "Miss me?" Reese gathered up her courage and spat in Sporelli's face. As he wiped it off, Reese growled at him.

"Go to hell," Sporelli only chuckled and ran one greasy hand down the side of Reese's face, making her shudder in disgust. 

"Oh, pretty bird," he took the woman's place and grabbed onto Reese's long brown hair, holding her in place as the woman restrained Lauren, who looked like she was about to pound Sporelli into the ground. "I'll do so much worse to you than that..." with that, he took out a small handgun and slammed the butt of it onto the back of Reese's skull, making Silverbird drop to the ground, unconscious.

The last thing Reese thought of before she blacked out was Dick's face, and how she needed to find a way to get a message to the Team before it was too late. Because if she didn't, both her and Lauren would die, and Reese couldn't let that happen to her sister.

And plus, it wasn't like anyone would miss her if she was gone. Nightwing would probably move on to Barbara or even back to Zatanna. But Lauren...she was the only family Reese had left. If anyone deserved to come out of this whole ordeal alive it was Lauren. No one would miss Reese. Because no one would care...

The last thing Reese thought of before she blacked out was a desperate wish that her sister would get out of this alive. Because Lauren was Reese's sister, and she deserved to live...

_She deserved to live..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOOM...RESURRECTED MOTHER...kind of. Who is she? Is she evil? Is she not? She certainly seems to be leaning towards not-very-nice side...well, guess you'll just have to wait and see! And yes, there is a reason "Rochelle" wasn't recognized by the Zeta tube, but the computer didn't classify her as an intruder.
> 
> Also, the next few chapters will be kind of triggering, but I will post appropriate warnings when and if need be.


	15. Chapter 14...Sisters & Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightwing and Aqualad try to dig up more information on Reese and Lauren's "mother", while Guiliano and Alexandra Sporelli hold Silverbird captive in Star City, prompting Lauren to go to great lengths, even risking her own life, to rescue her sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: MENTIONS OF ABUSE AND TORTURE...ALSO FORESHADOWING FOR GOLDEN GUARD: BOOK 3

**Batcave; April 3rd, 02:45 EST**

Dick

It had been a few days since Reese and Lauren's mother had resurfaced after almost three years of being presumed dead, and Dick couldn't help but feel like something was completely off about the whole situation. He had never met Reese's mother before she had died, but from what Kaldur had told him, Dick gathered that she was warm, loving, and an all-around  _good person_. Certainly nicer than whoever had been in the cave with the Team, Batman, and Black Canary the day of Jason and Lauren's field trip.

Nightwing sighed, and took off his domino mask, setting it on the Batcomputer's desk next to him before rubbing the crease that had appeared between his eyebrows. In the days that Reese had been gone, it seemed like she and Lauren had just dropped completely off the face of the Earth. No communication, nothing saying the two of them were all right. Nothing.

Dick knew Jason was just as frustrated as he was because Robin had been down in the Batcave almost as much as Nightwing, and had only gone upstairs a couple hours ago after Alfred had threatened him with no patrol for a month.

"Master Dick, I believe you should get some rest," Speak of the devil and he shall come. Dick spun around in the swivel chair and faced the aforementioned British Butler, who stood at the base of the staircase leading up to Wayne Manor with a slightly disapproving look on his face. Dick sighed and shook his head before turning around to face the Batcomputer again.

"I can't, Alfred. It's been almost a week and nothing. I can't help but think that something's wrong," Behind his back, Dick heard Alfred heave a sigh before there was suddenly a plate on the desk next to him, holding what looked like a turkey sandwich. Nightwing stared at it for a moment before glancing up at Alfred.

"What's this for?" he asked. Alfred sighed again, and Dick got the inkling he was fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Since I assume I won't be able to get you away from _this_ dreary place," he gestured around them at the Batcave, to which Dick raised an eyebrow. "Then I don't suppose you'll allow yourself to eat at least a  _few_ bites of dinner?" Dick glanced down at the sandwich again as Alfred slid the plate towards him, and when he looked up, the butler was gone, Batman's base looking as if he'd never even been there in the first place. Nightwing chuckled to himself. Sometimes he swore that Alfred was some sort of ninja.

Abruptly, the Zeta tube turned on, alerting Dick to someone else's arrival, and he remembered who else he had asked to meet him here tonight. Hopefully, the two of them would be able to figure out  _some_ clues to Reese and Lauren's whereabouts. He quickly put his mask back on, before turning towards the Zeta tube.

**Recognized Aqualad B02**

Kaldur stepped out of the transport system, his face grave. 

"Have you found anything yet?" he asked, and Nightwing shook his head.

"Nothing. Not even a ping from her cell phone," Dick sighed and leaned back in the chair, running his hands over his face. After Reese, Lauren, and Rochelle had left, Kaldur had told him about how before Reese's mother had "died", the two of them had been quite close. Aqualad had said that Reese and her mother would go on regular outings in Keystone, just spending the day with each other. Now, Dick would be lying if he said he hadn't been just the teeniest, _tiniest_  bit jealous of Reese's relationship with her mother.

Nightwing's own mom had died when he was barely nine, and Dick had moved in with Bruce and become Robin soon after, if only to get revenge, or justice, depending on how you thought about it, on Tony Zucco. If he was able to see his mother again, if only for a few hours each year, Dick wouldn't hesitate to jump at the chance to see one of his parents.

"We need to look harder. We need to find them," Kaldur's voice jerked Nightwing from his thoughts and Dick glanced at Aqualad from the corner of his eye, mask lenses narrowed.

"You think I don't _know_ that?" he practically growled. "What do you think I've been doing for the past  _week_ , Kaldur? I've been trying to find her!" Only when he had finished did Dick realize that he had stood up and stalked forward until he and Aqualad were nose-to-nose. Abruptly stepping back, Nightwing sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sorry," he said quickly, but Kaldur quickly shook his head.

"No," he said. "It is my fault. I should've known that you were doing everything in your power to try and get Reese and Lauren back. I should've been more considerate," Dick shook his head, turning around again to face the Batcomputer.

"No, you're right, we do need to look harder. I just..." he slumped down in the chair and put his elbows on the table, holding his head in his hands. "I can't... _think_ right now! Knowing that Reese is out there, and we haven't heard from either her  _or_  Lauren in the past  _week_?" he sighed and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands. Truthfully, Dick was exhausted. The last time he'd had a full night's sleep was probably...three days ago?

He'd been so focused on trying to find Reese and Lauren that Dick had begun to neglect his other basic needs, like sleep...and food, hence the turkey sandwich. He  _had_ taken a shower because Alfred had said he'd hide the keys to his bike if he didn't. Nonetheless, Nightwing sort of felt like he was about to drop dead of exhaustion. Not that he was going to tell Alfred that. Or Kaldur. He didn't need his leader questioning his objectivity. Though Dick had a feeling they had crossed that bridge a  _long_ time ago after he and Reese had first started dating.

" _Nightwing_!" Dick looked up to find Kaldur staring at him, and from the look on Aqualad's face, he had a feeling that the Atlantean had been trying to get his attention for a while.

"What?" he asked, and Kaldur sighed.

"Dick, you need sleep. We can try again tomorrow. Or...later today, considering the time," Dick glanced at the clock, only to see that it was almost three-thirty in the morning. He had to be up for school in...three  _hours_? Dick was tempted to just tell Bruce that he wasn't going, but he knew that the Bat wouldn't stand for it. Neither would Alfred, for that matter.

"Fine," he sighed. "Meet up in Mount Justice at four?" Kaldur gave him a look, and Dick rolled his eyes behind his mask. "In the  _afternoon_ , Aqualad!" Kaldur only chuckled before he nodded once at Nightwing, then left the same way he'd come in. Through the Zeta tube.

When he was gone, Dick glanced around for a minute to make sure no one else was around, before he turned back to the Batcomputer and pulled up some files that he had been looking through earlier. Before long though, Nightwing felt his eyelids begin to droop, and Dick leaned his head down on the desk, where sleep quickly took him.

**Gotham Academy; April 3rd, 09:30 EST**

Dick scowled from his spot beside Babs in their AP Chemistry class. Of  _course_ , he had fallen asleep in the cave, and now here he was, at the prodding of the butler, a Mr. Alfred Pennyworth, trying to pay attention to the teacher as he explained something about molecular bindings or whatnot. Honestly, he wasn't even  _trying_ to listen that hard. Dick's thoughts were more preoccupied with trying to think of ways to locate Reese and Lauren.

He'd tried everything. Pinging Reese's phone, traffic cameras, even checking the coordinates of the Zeta tube's last set location, but the data had somehow been corrupted and even  _he_ couldn't hack through it. To say that hurt his ego would be a gross understatement. A sharp elbow to the ribs alerted Dick to the situation at hand, and he looked up to find almost the entire class staring at him, obviously awaiting his answer to a question that Dick  _hadn't_ heard.

He quickly read through the scenario on the whiteboard, then glanced at the teacher, a single eyebrow raised.

"Hydrogen bromide?" he asked, and the rest of the class tittered in amusement, though Dick was too tired to care. The teacher sighed.

"You are correct, Mr. Grayson, but please, next time pay attention?" Dick gave a small nod, and his teacher turned around, and as soon as his back was turned, Babs jabbed her elbow into Dick's side again, making Nightwing jump.

"What was that Dick?" she hissed quietly so the teacher wouldn't see. "You're never this spaced-out," Dick shrugged.

"I stayed up all night trying to look for a way to find Reese and Lauren," From the corner of his eye, Dick saw Babs' face soften, and he rolled his eyes.

"Dick, we're going to find them.  _You_ are going to find them," even though he appreciated Babs' sentiment immensely, Dick could help but feel like she was just saying that to make him feel better. The teacher went to continue the lesson, but the intercom turned on before he could say anything.

"Richard Grayson to the main office. Richard Grayson to the main office," Dick's eyes widened as he watched everyone, including Babs, turn their heads towards him. Standing up, he weaved his way through the different lab stations towards the door.

When he was out in the hallway, Dick all but sprinted down the corridors towards the main office, where he saw the receptionist, an older woman with gray hair and a ready smile.

"Ah, Mr. Grayson," she said when she saw him. Reaching underneath the desk, she pulled out a medium-size box, about the size of a shoebox, wrapped with a dark blue ribbon. "A nice young man just brought this in for you. He said he wanted you to open it as soon as you came in,"

Now, Dick was a naturally suspicious person. Guess it was a side-effect of living with Batman for almost nine years. He glanced at the box in his hands before he carefully undid the ribbon, which, a bit oddly, was the exact same shade as the bird decal as on his Nightwing suit.

As he gently lifted the lid off the box, Dick swore he almost dropped it when he saw what was inside. As it were, his hands started shaking so much his entire body was quivering. The receptionist's calm voice sounded at the back of his mind, but Dick was listening.

"Mr. Grayson? Are you okay?" All he could see was the object laying inside. A bird. A dead bird. It looked to be a robin, but it had been spray-painted silver. A  _silver bird_. There was also a folded piece of paper at the bottom of the box. Dick slowly moved the robin out of the way and pulled out the piece of paper. On it was only four words, plus an address.

' **Running Out Of Time'**.

The address was to someplace in Star City, where hopefully if he got there in time, would be Reese and Lauren. Grabbing the lid to the box, Dick sped almost as fast as Wally out of the office and outside Gotham Academy, where he ducked behind one of the school's outer walls and loosened his tie.

Quickly changing into his suit, Nightwing called his motorcycle from where it was parked in a hidden alcove and jumped on as it drove past. As he sped through Gotham's crowded streets, cutting off cars left and right, Dick quickly called Kaldur through his commlink.

"Nightwing to Aqualad!" he was almost shouting, and when Kaldur answered, Dick, spoke as quickly as he could, while also still being understandable.

"Yes?"

"Kaldur! How fast can you get to Star City?" Dick swerved underneath a semi-truck that was about to hit him, the side of his bike leaning so far over it was almost parallel to the ground. He was almost to a Zeta tube, which would get him to the Pacific Coast that much faster.

"I am in Mount Justice with M'gann and Conner. Why? Have you found something?" A sudden image of the dead robin that was sent to him flashed through Nightwing's mind, and his grip tightened around the handles of his motorcycle.

"You could say that. If you count receiving a death threat in the middle of class 'finding something'," Dick heard Kaldur suck in a startled breath, and Nightwing skidded to a stop in front of the Gotham zeta, the same one he and Artemis had used all those years ago before Red Tornado's "siblings" had attacked the cave. As Dick entered the old phone booth, Kaldur spoke up.

**Recognized Nightwing B01**

"I can be in Star City in five minutes," Dick nodded as he stepped out into the warm April air of Star City.

"Good. Meet me at the corner of Sixth and Sequoia,"

"Will do. Aqualad out," Dick turned off his commlink, then slumped against the wall, leaning his forehead against the cool brick. This was the first lead he'd had to find Reese in almost a week. And for it to come to him in the form of a dead robin that was painted silver? An obvious metaphor to both Batman's sidekicks  _and_ Reese's own moniker.

Dick had to fight hard to keep his emotions under control, and not go and investigate the address by himself. When Kaldur finally did arrive, the two of them made their way stealthily towards the address, which turned out to be in an abandoned apartment building not half a block down.

The apartment was number 306, and Nightwing found it chilling how it was the same as Reese's birthday. Backing up, Dick nodded at Kaldur once before he ran forward and slammed his shoulder into the flimsy wooden door, knocking it off its hinges.

To Dick's increasing anger and frustration, the apartment was empty, with not a single living soul in sight, and as he and Kaldur walked through, Nightwing was growing more and more unsure that Reese and Lauren were even here.

After about fifteen minutes of searching fruitlessly, Kaldur's voice cut through Dick's thoughts from across the apartment.

"Nightwing! You need to see this!" he ran out of where he'd been looking through one of the other bedrooms, and met Kaldur in what Dick presumed to be the master bedroom, but he wasn't sure, because it sure didn't look like any master bedroom  _he'd_ ever been in.

There were sharp instruments everywhere. Daggers, blades, and pretty much any sharp weapon you could think of. Connected to the radiator by the window, a pair of metal handcuffs dangled limply, and Dick could see the there was what looked like dried blood crusting around the edges.

Kneeling down, Nightwing saw that some of the blood was still wet, and it looked like fresh, dark red paint, though Dick knew that this wasn't anything close to paint. If the blood was still this fresh, it meant they had just missed whoever had been here. They had literally  _just missed_ Reese and Lauren.

"Dammit," Dick swore quietly under his breath as he took a cotton swab out of his utility belt and took a small sample of the blood. He hoped,  _desperately,_ that the blood wouldn't belong to either of the girls, but he knew the chances of that were slim. Not when the clue that he had been given held a  _dead_ silver bird inside, and a note that said he was running out of time.

When Nightwing stood up, a glint of something sparkly from the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned to see a small object glittering in the sunlight. Bending down, Dick's breath stopped in his throat when he realized what it was.

Reese's bluebird necklace. The one that she  _never_ took off. And by the looks of it, it hadn't been taken off voluntarily. The chain was snapped in half, and the aquamarine bluebird charm had fallen to the floor, where it glittered glaringly up at Dick as if reminding himself of how he wasn't fast enough to get here in time to save Reese.

Besides the necklace was another shoebox, and inside this one was another dead silver robin, but instead of a letter or note, there was a small black cellphone, and as Nightwing and Aqualad stared at it, it began to vibrate and ring. Dick glanced at Kaldur, who only shrugged before Nightwing gently grabbed the phone out of the box and swiped across the phone, answering it. He wasn't even able to say "hello" before a disgustingly familiar voice came out of the speaker, and Dick swore he almost ended up throwing the phone out the window.

"Ah, Nightwing. Missing something?" Dick gritted his teeth and legitimately thought his jaw was going to break with how hard he was clenching it.

"Where.  _Is. She_?" he growled, his voice low and deadly. Sporelli only chuckled menacingly in response.

"Temper, temper Grayson. So impatient. All in good time will be revealed. But, for now though-"

"Bullshit!" Dick shouted into the phone, temporarily interrupting Sporelli's monologue. "Why'd you take them? They didn't do  _anything_ to you!" Sporelli laughed again, and Dick's jaw clenched even more.

"Oh, I know," he said. "This all about  _you_ Grayson. You just  _had_ to interfere in matters that weren't your own. Now, your little girlfriend and her sister are paying the price for  _your_ mistakes...better hope you find them before it's too late,"

"If you hurt them-"

"Don't worry Nightwing. The little sister is unharmed. Reese, on the other hand, well...I may not have hurt her  _physically_ , yet, but Jonathan Crane's fear toxin does wonders for the mental aspect of things," It was at that moment when everything seemed to go in slow motion for Dick, and he almost dropped the phone.

Fear Toxin. Did he really just give her  _fear toxin_? It had been almost two years since that dreadful Halloween when Reese had accidentally killed somebody for the first time, and Dick knew for a fact that the holiday was a sore subject for her. He could only wonder what she was seeing right now.

"When I find you, I'm going to kill you," he growled, but Sporelli only chuckled, as if he wasn't even fazed.

"I'd like to see you try," Then, there was a resounding 'click', and Nightwing realized that Sporelli had hung up. He stood there, shell-shocked and stricken, for a few moments in the empty apartment, before he whirled around and slammed his fist into the wall, making a large hole appear in the weathered down plaster. He placed his other hand flat on the wall and leaned his head against it for a few seconds, breathing heavily, trying desperately not to lose control.

Sporelli had Reese and Lauren. Of  _course_ , he did. Who else knew how much those two meant to the Team? To Batman? To  _Nightwing_ and  _Robin_? Robin. Jason. He didn't know. He didn't know that Sporelli had taken Lauren. And, as of now, Dick wasn't planning on telling him. At least, not until he was done with school.

"We need to get back to the cave," Nightwing said firmly once he had calmed down a bit. "Contact Batman. We need to tell him what we know and see if he can dig up anything else. We know Sporelli's  _behind_ Reese and Lauren's kidnapping, but who was the woman who came to Mount Justice, claiming to be their mother?" Kaldur gave a single, grave nod, and the two of them headed out of the apartment building.

Once they were outside, Dick slid his phone out of a compartment of his utility belt and used it to call Bruce, who would most likely be at Wayne Enterprises and  _not_ have his commlink on him. Though, with Batman, you could never be too sure.

"Dick, why aren't you in school?" was the first thing out the Dark Knight's mouth when he answered. As he and Kaldur walked up to the Zeta tube, Dick rolled his eyes behind his mask.

"Kaldur and I found something about Reese and Lauren," he said, and another flashback of his conversation with Sporelli lanced through Dick's mind. "Sporelli has them, Bruce," for a few minutes, Batman was silent, and not a word came out of his mouth. Then, when he  _did_ speak, it was with barely suppressed anger.

"Meet at the Watchtower in fifteen minutes," he said briskly before there was another 'click', and Bruce hung up. Dick sighed before he turned to Kaldur.

"We should probably get going," he said, and Aqualad nodded again.

**Recognized Nightwing B01, Aqualad B02**

The Watchtower was almost completely deserted, with only Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, and Red Tornado standing by the observation window, and the three of them looked up when Kaldur and Dick appeared.

"Nightwing, Aqualad," Diana said in shock, stepping forward as the golden glow from the Zeta Tube dissipated. "What are you two doing here?" Dick sighed.

"A new lead opened up in Reese and Lauren's disappearance," he looked up at Diana as Manhunter and Red Tornado left the main room. "Guiliano Sporelli kidnapped them," Diana gasped, but before she could say anything the Zeta tube turned on again.

**Recognized Batman 02**

Bruce stepped out of the Zeta tube, looking like a raging thunderhead. He stalked forward out of the Zeta tube and stared at Nightwing, his face under the cowl hard with determination.

"What did you find?" he asked once the three of them, plus Diana, had entered the meeting room. Dick sighed and took out the box he had found in Star City, and the one he had received at Gotham Academy, along with Reese's bluebird necklace and the blood sample he had taken from the apartment.

"In Gotham, I was given this box," he slid forward the first box, and Bruce lifted the lid off. "Inside there was a dead robin, spray-painted silver, along with a note. Saying 'Running out of time', also an address to an abandoned apartment in Star City. Inside, nobody was there, but there  _was_ another dead robin, with Reese's necklace and a pair of handcuffs connected to the radiator..." he trailed off for a minute, the blood that was on the handcuffs flashing through his mind. "There was blood on them,"

Bruce's cowl lenses widened minutely, but he recovered himself surprisingly quickly. 

"Anything else?" Batman growled, and Dick thought for a moment before he nodded.

"Instead of a note, in the second box, there was a phone. Untraceable, but Sporelli called us on it. He said something about how Lauren was unharmed, but Reese..." Kaldur spoke up next because Dick wasn't sure he could continue without losing it.

"Sporelli said something about Jonathan Crane's fear toxin 'working wonders for the mental aspect of things'," Again, Bruce's cowl lenses widened, and Dick sighed.

"After that, he hung up. And then I called you," Batman nodded once Nightwing had finished, and the table was silent for several minutes as everyone processed the information. Finally, Diana's head snapped up, and she looked at Bruce with a shocked expression on her Amazonian face.

"Bruce, what if the theft from STAGG Industries had something to do with Reese and Lauren's 'mother'?" Dick stared at the two senior Leaguers, confused.

" 'Theft at STAGG Industries'?" He asked. "What theft at STAGG Industries?" Bruce sighed.

"Two weeks ago there was a break-in at the STAGG Industries building in Blüdhaven. A prototype camouflage-creating tech was stolen from one of Simon Stagg's personal security vaults. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now, like what Diana said, I believe that the theft and Reese and Lauren's disappearance may now be connected. The camo-tech can be used to recreate another person's face and body shape onto their own body. Theoretically, now that I think about it, the camo-tech could be used to-" Dick's eyes widened as he realized where Bruce was going with this.

"Even disguise a person as someone who was already dead," his voice was barely more than a whisper, but Batman nodded when Dick had finished.

"Yes. We need to figure out who exactly robbed STAGG Industries, and see if they have any connection with Guiliano Sporelli," Dick, Kaldur, and Diana agreed, and for the next couple hours, almost until dusk, the four of them tried to find any evidence they could about the robbery, but at the crime scene there was hardly any evidence, to begin with.

Just as they were about to leave, there were two separate streaks of red and yellow, and suddenly the Flash and Kid Flash were in front of them, breathing hard, which was normally unheard of in a speedster.

"KF, what is it?" Nightwing asked, coming to stand in front of Wally.

"It'sReeseshe'shurtandshowedupinthecaveaftersheandLaurenranawayfromSporelli," the thing was though, Kid Flash spoke super fast, and Dick wasn't able to understand him.

"Wally," he hissed so no one else would hear him use his real name. "What. _Happened_?" Wally leaned against the wall of STAGG Industries, catching his breath before he took a granola bar out of his pocket and bit into it.

"It's Reese and Lauren," he managed to gasp out, and Dick's breath caught. "They're in the cave. Lauren's okay, but Reese is hurt...and it's _bad_ ,"

**Star City; April 3rd, 07:45 EST**

Reese

She felt the electricity jolt through her veins, burning as if she was being prodded with a hot poker. This was how it had been for the past four days. No food, and barely any water. Barely enough to keep her alive. Just excruciating, merciless pain.

Reese threw her head back in agony and screamed as Sporelli's associate, who turned out to be his freakin' older  _sister_ , Alexandra Lichweed, shocked her through the inhibitor collar that was around her neck, dampening both her super senses and Canary Cry, otherwise, she and Lauren would've escaped a _long_ time ago.

Alexandra seemed to find a sick sort of twisted enjoyment in watching Reese writhe around in pain.

"Aw, poor,  _poor_ Silverbird," Alexandra cooed as she stepped towards Reese, who was currently handcuffed to a radiator at Alexandra's apartment in Star City, which was frankly, very underwhelming. You would think the daughter of a multi-million dollar winning Italian wrestler would be well-off. Apparently not, considering the state of  _this_ place.

"You won't get away with this," Reese bit out through gritted teeth, trying to work through the pain from the electricity that still had to work its way out of her system. Alexandra only tsked and walked closer, and Reese tried to break her way out the handcuffs, but only succeeded in cutting her wrists, making droplets of blood fall onto the rotting wooden floor.

"I beg to differ Silverbird," Alexandra said coldly. "I think my dear brother and I have  _already_ gotten away with it," Reese didn't really have a comeback for that, so she just clenched her eyes shut for a moment, trying desperately not to let the multitude of tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes run free.

When she opened them, Reese saw, just outside the doorway, her little sister, standing terrified in the narrow corridor. Reese sighed and hung her head as Alexandra picked up one of the dagger blades that were leaning against the wall and walked towards Reese again.

Lauren shouldn't have to see this. She could hear her sister begin to cry as Alexandra carefully dug the tip of the blade into the skin around Reese's left shoulder, where she had gotten shot all those months ago back in Rome.

The wound had since healed, but the scar tissue was still notoriously tender, and as the blade entered deeper into the skin on her arm, and blood began to drip out of the new wound, Reese had to bite her tongue to stop from crying out in pain.

"Do you not like the pain, Silverbird?" Alexandra said menacingly, but before she could dig any farther into Reese's new scarred wound, her head snapped up and turned towards the window, where her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Nevermind that," she said. "We need to go.  _Now_ ," she yanked Reese up by her wounded shoulder, and despite herself, Reese let out a small whimper at the pain that ran through her body as dark-red blood dripped down her arm.

Suddenly, without warning, Alexandra reached over and tore off Reese's Bluebird necklace, snapping the chain in half and throwing it to where it hit the wall once before falling to the floor, the small aquamarine stones glittering in the sunlight.

Alexandra then quickly took a small set of keys and unlocked Reese's handcuffs. But, before Silverbird was even able to  _think_ about making a run for it, Alexandra clamped her hand down onto Reese's still-bleeding shoulder and squeezed, making even more pain run through her arm.

"If you want your sister to survive the next forty-five minutes, you'll stay where you are," she growled, and Reese gave a small nod before Alexandra had dragged both her and Lauren down the apartment's stairs and out the back door, where Guiliano Sporelli was waiting with a black, unmarked sedan. But not before Alexandra had set down a shoebox wrapped with a dark blue ribbon next to Reese's necklace. When Sporelli saw them outside, his lip curled into a wicked smirk.

"Now, pretty bird, you look a little battered and bruised. Want me to...kiss it better?" She may have been rendered weak from the torture she had been put through, but Reese was still strong and coherent enough to give Sporelli her own menacing glare.

"If you were to kiss me  _anywhere_ , you'd be dead faster than the Flash can run between Gotham and Metropolis," Sporelli only glared at her, before he yanked open the back of the sedan, and pushed Reese and Lauren in.

Reese's shoulder was slammed against the metal back of the passenger's seat, making even more blood flow out of her wound. She clenched her eyes shut as the pain appeared, and tried to think of something,  _anything_ that would get her mind off the agony currently pulsing through her body.

Unsurprisingly, the first thing to come to mind was Dick. It had been almost five days since Reese had seen Nightwing and the fact that she was currently bleeding out in the back of her kidnappers' car, made Reese wonder...what exactly would Dick do if, or when, for that matter, she died?

Actually, she didn't need to wonder about what Dick would do. She  _knew_ what he would do. He'd lose it. Go  _completely_ off-the-rails, and most likely kill both Sporelli and his sister without a second thought. 

Reese didn't want to know what Batman would do when that happened. Suddenly, Reese heard Sporelli's voice from the front of the car, as if he was talking to somebody. Then, her eyes widened and her breath caught when, from the phone, he was holding, came a voice she recognized. Dick's voice.

"Bullshit!" Reese could hear the anger radiating from Dick's voice. "Why'd you take them? They didn't  _do_ anything to you," Reese opened her mouth to cry out, to let Nightwing know that she and Lauren were okay, but Alexandra pointed a handgun at her forehead, and Reese's words died in her throat.

"Oh, I know. This is all about  _you_ Grayson..." he kept talking, but Reese sort of zoned out, because her vision began to get a bit woozy. She had lost too much blood. She didn't know how long they had been driving after Sporelli's conversation with Dick, but Reese thought it must have been at least a few hours because they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. That is until a city's skyline came into view.

Because of her darkening vision, it took Reese a few minutes to recognize it, but when she saw the massive red suspension bridge, it was a no-brainer. San Francisco. Sporelli rolled the car to a stop, at the edge of Golden Gate Park, where Reese knew for a fact there was a Zeta tube that could take her and Lauren to Mount Justice. That is if they were able to make it across the park without being killed.

Sporelli grabbed Reese's injured shoulder and yanked her out of the car, before reaching back inside for Lauren, but before he could bring Reese's sister outside, there was a sharp shout, and he suddenly recoiled, clutching his hand in pain.

"Ow, you little  _bitch_!" he cried out as Lauren smirked triumphantly from her spot in the backseat. "You  _bit_ me!" he grabbed for his gun, the same one Alexandra had used to threaten Reese, but when he didn't find it attached to the holster around his waist, Sporelli frantically patted himself down, and only stopped when he saw Lauren dangling the gun teasingly between her fingers.

"Looking for this?" she asked innocently, before taking the gun and throwing it across the park, and it landed with a crash in a clump of bushes several meters away. "Go.  _Fetch_ ," Reese had to commend her sister on her bravery, even if what she had just done was  _incredibly_ stupid. Alexandra was currently locked inside the car, which Lauren had done at the same time she threw the gun. For a few seconds, Reese just stared at her sister in shock, before Lauren shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"Jason's been teaching me a few things," she said, before hooking Reese's right arm over her shoulders, and the two began to make their way, albeit slowly, towards the Zeta tube, which was hidden in a grove of sycamore trees not far away. Reese hissed in pain when her injury was jostled, and she felt Lauren wince beneath her arm. "Sorry," she said a bit sheepishly, and Reese shook her head.

"No, Ren, it's okay. It just hurts," Lauren glanced up at Reese and gave a small smile. After a few more minutes of walking, Reese spoke up. "You didn't have to do that, you know. Confront Sporelli like that. I could've handled him myself," Lauren gave Reese a skeptical look, and Reese sighed in defeat as she saw the grove of sycamore trees grow closer. Who was she kidding? They both knew that Reese had lost too much blood from her shoulder wound to be much help to anybody.

"I couldn't just stand by and let him hurt you like that," Lauren's voice was quiet, almost a whisper, but with Reese's super-hearing, she was able to catch it. "You're my sister, Rhysalin. My family," Reese gave her little sister a grateful smile. They finally made their way to the Zeta tube, out of sight of the rest of the park, and Reese quickly typed in the coordinates for Mount Justice. But, just before the two of them stepped inside, there was a sharp 'bang!' and Reese's already injured shoulder erupted in a whole new level of agony as she felt a bullet dig its way into her flesh.

Reese was thrown to the ground, and in the back of her mind, she heard Lauren scream. A pair of small arms were suddenly wrapped around Reese's left arm, the one that  _wasn't_ feeling like it had just been run over by a bus, and Lauren began to drag her sister's limp body towards the Zeta tube, watching, terrified as Sporelli stalked through the sycamore trees, handgun cocked and pointed towards Lauren's forehead.

Luckily, the two sisters were swallowed by the Zeta tube's golden light just as he fired the gun, and the bullet missed Lauren's head by mere inches.

**Recognized Silverbird B10, Lauren Michaels A33**

In the haze filling Reese's mind, she could hear voices. Some of which sounded distinctly like that of the Team.

_"Oh my god!_ " that sounded like Artemis. Lauren obviously wasn't strong enough to keep a hold on Reese for long, because the next thing she knew, Reese had fallen onto the floor.

" _Where's Nightwing? We need to get him and Aqualad back here ASAP!"_ Reese had lost too much blood. Everything was going in and out of focus, and she could feel someone, probably Conner, pick her up like a baby and begin to carry her across the cave.

" _Wally, you're fast."_  That was M'gann's voice. _"You can get to Blüdhaven before Reese...you know..._ " there was a sudden burst of wind, and though she couldn't see him, or much of anything, for that matter, Reese knew that Kid Flash had sped out of the cave as fast as his super-speeding feet could carry him.

It seemed like only minutes later, as Conner was setting Reese down on a bed in the infirmary, after snapping off her inhibitor collar with one hand and bandaging her shoulder as best he could, which was actually quite well, did the Zeta tube turn on again.

**Recognized Batman 02, Wonder Woman 03, Flash 04, Nightwing B01, Aqualad B02, Kid Flash B03**

"Where is she!" Dick's voice entered Reese's ears, and she couldn't help but give out a small smile. Dick was here. He had always been there. 

Nightwing burst into the infirmary and immediately ran over to Reese's side, placing a hand on each of her cheeks.

"Hey," he said quietly, and Reese gave a tired smile. Everything was darkening quicker, and Reese wasn't able to help it when her eyelids fluttered shut for a second, but they snapped open when Dick shouted. "No! Do  _not_ shut your eyes Rhysalin. You can't shut your eyes. We're going to save you," Reese didn't think they had enough time, that  _she_ had enough time, but Batman walked in before she could say anything.

"We need to give her a major blood transfusion, otherwise she is going to die," Bruce's voice was blunt, and everything was getting hazier. "Nightwing, you two have the same blood type. We can transfer some of your blood into her, and hopefully, it will save her,"

"What are you waiting for then?" Dick cried, his voice barely quivering. "Do it!" As Batman set up the equipment, Dick sat down next to Reese, his hand slipping carefully into hers. She would've whimpered in pain, but she was too tired.

"This may take a few hours," Bruce said quietly, his voice now sounding less like the Batman and more like the Bruce Wayne that Reese knew. "Let's hope she stays alive that long. She lost a lot of blood, Dick," Nightwing's hold tightened on Reese's hand.

"She will survive this," he said quietly, barely more than a whisper. "She has too," Bruce didn't say anything, and Reese got the inkling that he had left the infirmary.

When the med-bay was empty, except for the two of them, Dick leaned over and pressed his lips to Reese's temple, making Reese's chest grow warm.

"You can't die from this, Argent," he whispered against her hair before leaning his forehead against hers. "I won't let you," Reese didn't know how fast a blood transfusion was supposed to work, but she suddenly felt stronger, and she blinked her eyes open, only to find Dick's own staring into hers.

He had taken off his mask, and Reese noticed that his eyes seemed bluer than normal. That was when she realized that Richard John Grayson had been  _crying_.

"Bluebird..." she trailed off, but Nightwing gave her a small smile.

"I know I said earlier that you shouldn't close your eyes, but you look  _exhausted_ , Rhysalin. You need rest," Reese felt Dick's fingers flutter against the side of her neck, and she flinched. Apparently, when Alexandra had shocked her, the inhibitor collar had left red, inflamed lightning-shaped burns on her neck. "What did they  _do_ to you, Argent?"

Images flashed through Reese's mind, of Alexandra shocking her until she couldn't breathe, of Sporelli clawing her arm, putting deep red scratches into her skin. Her face must've shown her pain because Dick backed off.

"Hey, it's okay, Rhysalin," he said softly, angling his head down. "They're not going to hurt you again. I won't let them," Reese gave a small smile before she pressed her lips to Dick's cheek for a split-second before falling back onto the bed.

"Thank you, Richard," she said quietly. "For everything," Dick smiled and settled himself back in the chair he was sitting in as he transferred his blood to Reese.

"Of course, Rhysalin," he said. "I love you too much to let anything happen to you," He squeezed her hand reassuringly, and Reese squeezed back. Then, because of the events from the past couple days, Reese felt her eyes droop shut, and she fell asleep.


	16. Chapter 15...Aureum Carceris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightwing fights a resurrected intruder in Wayne Manor, and Dick tries to help Reese heal from her time with the Sporelli's, while Lauren and Jason face the consequences of Lauren's theft of the Aureum Carceris from S.T.A.R Labs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO'S BAAAAAAAACK...also, Jason is a pure little cinnamon roll and my son.

**Wayne Manor; April 12th, 03:15 EST**

Dick

It took three days for the nightmares to begin.

They started small, with barely-there flashes of memories that took over her mind for a few minutes, before they disappeared.

Then, a couple of days later, now a week after Lauren and Reese escaped from Guiliano Sporelli and his sister, they became worse. More like night terrors than anything, and lasting for _hours_ on end. Reese would wake up, screaming in terror, in the middle of the night, and it would be up to Dick to comfort her and get her back to sleep because no one else would be awake.

Tonight, or rather, this morning, was no different.

Dick's eyes snapped open at three in the morning, greeted with an anguished scream, and he sighed once before slipping out of his room and into Reese's, just across the hall. When he came inside, he stopped.

Reese was writhing around on her bed, her dark brown hair fanned out around her shoulders, and her forehead was glistening with sweat. For a moment, the situation reminded Dick of the first time Reese had had a nightmare after she had returned from Nepal when Dick had told her that he knew her full name.

Dick crept into Reese's room and knelt down next to her bed. Reaching out, he set a hand on Reese's shoulder, and her eyes flew open. She sat up with a gasp and looked around wildly for a moment, still caught in the clutches of her nightmare, before her eyes cleared and her gaze landed on Dick, who was still balancing on the balls of his feet, one hand bracing himself on the side of her bed. Reese sighed.

"Another one?" she asked breathlessly, and Dick gave a small nod before climbing onto the bed next to Reese.

"Do you remember what this one was about?" he asked, because most of the time, though Reese always said that her nightmares were almost real they were so vivid, she never seemed to remember them. Dick wasn't sure if she _truly_ didn't remember her dreams, or was just saying that to not worry him. He'd known Reese long enough to know that it was probably the latter. This time was no different.

"I'm sorry, Bluebird," Reese said quietly. "I can't remember," Dick shut his eyes and sighed for a minute. This is what it was like every night. Dick decided to stop beating around the bush and confront Reese about her dreams head-on. Which, when he thought about it, was  _not_ the best idea. But, he did it anyway. Because he was stubborn like that.

"I think you're lying," he said softly, and Reese's eyes widened.

"W-What?" she said, but her voice was about an octave too high, as it always was when she was lying. 

"I said, I think you're lying," he leaned closer to Reese, and silently smirked to himself when Reese's eyes darted away, avoiding his gaze. He got her.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," she claimed, obviously still trying to find a way out of this. But, Dick was persistent, if nothing else.

"Rhysalin, I'm trying to help you," he said quietly, cupping Reese's cheek with his hand. "But, I can't help you if you won't tell me what's wrong," Reese sighed, and leaned into Dick's touch, and Nightwing counted that as a win.

"It's not that I don't _want_ to tell you, Bluebird," Reese whispered, flopping down onto her comforter. "It's that I don't know  _how_ ," Dick's eyes widened and he lay down on Reese's bed beside her.

"What do you mean, Argent?" he asked quietly, genuinely confused. Reese sighed, and in the silvery moonlight, Dick caught sight of tears running down on her cheeks. Reaching over, he quickly wiped them away, making Reese look at him, and Dick's breath caught at the pain, fear, and sadness that was lurking in Reese's dark brown eyes.

"It's not just at night that I have nightmares, Richard," she said quietly. "It's every time I close my eyes. Each time I close my eyes, I see her, _Alexandra_ , in front of me, with that inhibitor collar remote in her hand. She kept on shocking me, electrocuting me until I couldn't breathe. And when I would catch my breath, she'd start all over again," Dick couldn't even  _begin_ to imagine what Reese had gone through when she and Lauren were being held hostage by the Sporelli's, and frankly, he didn't want to.

He saw what it was beginning to do to Reese, and he wouldn't wish that sort of psychological pain on anyone...okay, that was a lie. He'd  _maybe_ wish it on Guiliano Sporelli. It  _was_ his fault that Reese was having these nightmares in the first place. His and his sister's.

"I promise, Rhysalin," he whispered, ghosting his lips over Reese's ear. "As long as I'm here, nothing will ever happen to you," Though it was pretty dark in Reese's room, there was still some light from the almost full moon, and in its light, Dick could see a small, sad smile on Reese's face.

"Thanks, Dick," she said quietly, curling up in her blankets. "You help," Dick smiled and got up to head back into his own bedroom, but Reese stopped him with a hand wrapped around his. "Please," she said quietly, barely more than a whisper. "Stay," Dick felt his heart swell for a moment before he gave Reese a smile and climbed under the covers next to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and sliding her closer to him.

Several minutes later, about forty-five, Dick finally felt Reese's breathing change into the deep, steady way it did when she was sleeping. Smiling softly, he nuzzled into Reese's soft, dark brown hair, and closed his eyes, hoping to get at least a  _few_ hours of sleep before Alfred came in to wake them up. It wasn't Reese's fault that she was having nightmares that woke Dick up, quite the opposite in fact. Anyone would be traumatized from the experiences that Reese and her sister went through.

But, just as Nightwing was about to fall asleep, his eyes snapped open again. Not about Reese this time, no. She was sleeping soundly next to him, chest rising and falling normally. Good, he had been terrified when Wally had cornered him in Blüdhaven, saying that Reese was hurt. And, when they had gotten back to the cave, and Dick had seen Reese's right arm, with the bright-red blood running down it, and the bullet hole in her shoulder, Nightwing's entire world had come crashing down in a matter of seconds.

It was a good thing that he and Reese had the same blood type. If they hadn't...Dick didn't want to think about what might've, no,  _would've_ happened. But, this wasn't what had woken him up, though it had on multiple occasions since Reese and Lauren had come home. No, that wasn't what had woken him up. Instead, Dick had heard something.

Now, he may not have super-hearing like Reese, but he still did have good ears. So when he heard a floorboard creak from just outside Reese's bedroom, Dick's eyes flew open, and he tilted his head so he could see the doorway, but wouldn't wake up Reese.

The light in the corridor was on, and Dick could see the precise moment that a figure paused in Reese's doorway, seeming to look inside her room for a moment, before continuing on their way. Now, Dick  _was_ aware that the figure could just be Bruce or Jason, just coming back from patrol, or Alfred, checking on each of them to make sure they were alright, but he didn't think so. Also, he didn't want to take any chances after what happened the  _last_ time he had seen a shadow figure.

Nightwing glanced down at Reese's sleeping form again, before  _carefully_ slipping his arm out from underneath her and then climbing out of bed. He crossed around the end of the bed and was about to go and investigate whoever the mysterious figure was when a soft voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Bluebird?" he turned to see Reese looking at him sleepily. "Where are you going?" Dick knelt down on Reese's side of the bed and gently ran his fingers through her hair, which he knew calmed her down.

"Don't worry, Argent," he said quietly, so as not to wake the other occupants of Wayne Manor. "I just need to check on something. I'll be right back, promise," he pressed his lips to Reese's for a split second, then stood up and started back towards the door, but paused again, turned back around, and kissed Reese again. "Love you," he whispered, his lips ghosting over hers, and he heard Reese whisper it back quietly, making Dick smile before he slipped out of her room into the corridor, which was now strangely dark. The light had been turned off.

Walking cautiously down the hallway, Dick peeked into everyone else's room. Jason was sleeping soundly, and his room was strangely neat. Lauren's was the same, though there was a subtle golden light coming from the side of the room where she was sleeping. She must have a nightlight or something.

Even Bruce and Alfred were asleep, the former having just come back from patrol. So, who had he seen? Dick gathered that it must have been nothing, and turned around to go back into Reese's room and get some sleep when he stopped dead in his tracks. Because there, in the doorway to Reese's bedroom, was a dark figure, dressed all in black, looking like they had been about to go  _into_ Reese's room, but Dick had interrupted them. Good.

For a few minutes, Dick and the would-be intruder just stared at each other, neither backing down, neither breaking eye-contact. Or at least, that  _was_ what they were doing, until the intruder turned and fled down the stairs, and Dick gave chase after him. It was still only four in the morning, so Nightwing had to try and be quiet so as to not wake anybody else up. Though that was a bit difficult when the intruder glanced behind them and knocked an end table into the hallway, making it crash to the ground.

Dick leaped over it and kept chasing them. Thank god for acrobatics. He was finally close enough and reached out to grab the intruder's shoulder, and most likely toss them to the ground, but the intruder reached behind them and grabbed onto Dick's hand, flipping him over their shoulder and causing Nightwing to thud into the wall, making the paintings shake, while Dick also had the wind knocked out of him. The intruder suddenly took out a switchblade and went to swipe at Dick's face, but the acrobat caught their wrist and held the hand in place.

"I wouldn't," he warned, but the intruder just struggled more, and Dick smirked. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he said once before taking his bare feet and slamming them into the intruder's chest, knocking them away from him and against the opposite wall.

" _Richard John Grayson_ ," the intruder sneered, their words low and gravelly from the voice modulator they were no doubt wearing. It sounded like how Oliver does his. " _You came to see little ol' me?_ " Dick reached forward and slammed the intruder against the wall, his eyes cold with barely suppressed anger.

"Who are you?" he growled. "Why were you outside Reese's room?" the intruder gave a low chuckle, and through the voice modulator, it sounded pretty menacing.

" _Aw, Grayson, I'm hurt,_ " the intruder said mockingly, and Dick's eyes narrowed. " _I can't believe you don't recognize me_ ," Nightwing tightened his grip on the intruder's jacket collar. It would be pretty hard to recognize them in the first place, considering they were wearing a ninja-like mask that covered their entire face. The only feature that Dick could make out were their eyes, which, like Alexandra Sporelli's when she was posing as Reese's mother, were cold and hard, but instead of being a deep chocolate brown, these were a pale, ice-like, almost white blue.

"I need to know. Who. You.  _Are_ ," Nightwing growled, and the intruder rolled his eyes.

" _How is your girlfriend, Grayson? Does she still have any scars? Preferably ones that are shaped like an...'L' _?" the dots began to connect in Dick's brain, but everything fell into place when the intruder reached across Dick's arm, which was pressed against the intruder's throat, and ripped off their glove, revealing a pale hand that was covered in black spiderweb-like veins, showcasing their destructive energy.

They slammed their hand against another end table, and the piece of furniture disintegrated instantly. Thoughts were now running through Nightwing's brain at lightspeed. There was only one person that Dick knew who had powers like that...and he had supposedly been dead for the past four months.

" _Luke_ ," Dick growled, and the somehow-resurrected Leech let loose a cackle, tilting his head back until it hit the back wall. Dick changed his grip on the Leech's collar and slammed him against the wall. "How are you  _alive_?" Instead of dignifying him with an answer, Luke only laughed again and tilted his head.

" _Wouldn't you like to know_?" though he was still using the modulator, Dick could tell now that the intruder was Luke when he really thought about it. Another thing, how was  _nobody else_ awake right now? Dick and Luke had obviously made some noise, what with the Leech throwing that other end table to block Nightwing's path, and Dick slamming Luke against the wall. Dick had no sooner thought that, that a voice sounded from farther down the hallway.

"Bluebird? Are you okay?" Dick's head snapped up. It was Reese. He could see her shadow get closer to the corner and in the corner of his eye, Dick saw Luke tense, and in the split-second, it took for Nightwing to realize that the Leech was going to jump at Reese, Luke had already begun to move. He broke out of Dick's grip and practically flew towards Reese just as she rounded the corner. Dick followed after and tackled Luke to the ground. 

He kept Luke's face away from Reese. She didn't need to know that the man who had terrorized her for months was alive. Not yet.

Before Dick could do anything, Luke had thrown down a smoke bomb, flooding the hallway with a cloud of choking gray smoke. Now, Nightwing wasn't able to see, and he was terrified. Not for his own safety, but for Reese's. Luke had come here for her, for whatever sick, twisted enjoyment he found in watching Reese suffer. And as long as he was still alive, Dick wasn't going to let anything or any _one_ take Reese away from him.  _Especially_ , not Luke.

From the corner of his eye, Nightwing saw a figure rise out of the smoke, and he was only just able to dodge a vase that had been thrown his way by the Leech, the ornament turning to dust halfway there. But, Luke leaped forward faster than Dick was able to process it, and the next thing Nightwing knew, the Leech's hand was wrapped around his throat. In the span of half a second, Dick was trying to pry Luke's bare fingers away from the skin on his throat, but it was too late.

He could already feel his life-force draining away, and black spots began to invade Dick's vision as the Leech sucked the life-force straight from him. 

" _You know_ ," Luke said quietly as Dick's breathing began to grow more erratic. " _You've met my father's powers before, back at that dreaded circus. He said you had some tasty skills. Too bad he won't get any more, won't it? Because you'll. Be. Dea-_ " A shrill screech suddenly hit Dick's ears, and in the back of his rapidly darkening mind, Nightwing realized that Reese must've used her Canary Cry. The Leech's grip was abruptly wrenched off of Dick's neck as the sonic scream hit his back and threw him forward, making Luke fly through the window at the end of the corridor, smashing the glass on impact.

Dick tried to gain control back over himself, but the Leech had taken a lot of his energy, and his vision was still darkening rapidly. There was a patter of footsteps, and he subconsciously knew that Reese had knelt beside him because he could feel her fingers running through his hair, and one hand lay on his cold cheek.

"Bluebird?" she whispered quietly, and Dick hated the fear that laced its way through her voice. "Dick, please. Wake up," As if it were an Olympic feat, Dick willed his eyes to open, and though his vision was still a bit blurry, he could see Reese's scared face in front of him.

"Why is everything...spinning?" he asked woozily as Reese helped him sit up when Lauren, Jason, Bruce, and Alfred rounded the corner of the corridor, eyes wide.

"What happened?" Jason cried, his eyes flickering over to the smashed window for a split-second before looking back towards Dick and Reese.

"Truthfully," Reese said quietly as she helped Dick stand. "I'm not sure. I had another nightmare, and Dick had come in to comfort me, but he left, and then I found him fighting this masked man in the hallway,"

"Did you see the intruder's face?" Bruce asked, and Dick looked up to find Batman staring intensely at him, and he couldn't help but squirm a bit. Bruce would know if Dick was lying, he was sure of it, but that didn't stop him from trying.

"No," Nightwing said quietly as Reese helped him stand, with Dick's shoulder leaning on hers, even though he was a good three inches taller than she was. "I wasn't able to see who he was before Reese Canary-cried him out the window," Bruce's eyes narrowed, but Alfred cut in before he was able to speak.

"Perhaps it would be a good idea for Master Dick and Miss Rhysalin to get some sleep before the morning, when we are able to investigate this... _intrusion_ more thoroughly," Bruce looked like he wanted to argue, but Dick was relieved when the Bat eventually nodded solemnly and turned back to go into his bedroom. Everyone else eventually dispersed, and Reese and Dick slowly made his way towards his room, side-stepping the piles of broken glass that was on the floor from the shattered picture frames.

"He really did a number on you," Reese spoke up as they walked inside. "You're sure you're okay?" Dick glanced at his girlfriend from the corner of his eye and gave her a small smile.

"I'll be fine in the morning, Argent," he whispered. "Promise," Reese still looked skeptical, but she relented and Dick collapsed face-first into his comforter, groaning into his pillow. God, he was exhausted.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," Reese's voice was soft, almost a whisper, but it made Dick lift his head from the pillowcase and turn to look at Silverbird, who was standing in the doorway, looking very sheepish. "I should've been able to control myself over my dreams more," Dick quickly shook his head and tried to stand up, but he was still a bit weak.

"No, no, no," he said quickly, bracing himself with one hand on the side of his dresser. "Rhysalin, what happened wasn't, in any way,  _your_ fault. Anybody would have been mentally traumatized from what you and Lauren went through, and I guess the nightmares are just your way of dealing with it. What you went through..." he trailed off, but Reese seemed to catch his meaning because her eyes quickly flitted to the floor.

"I just...I feel terrible for making you lose sleep, and I can't help but wonder if things would have been better if only  _Lauren_ had escaped from Sporelli and Alexandra. Better for  _you_ at least, if I wasn't here," Dick froze, her words reverberating around in his head. Reese couldn't  _seriously_ be thinking this, right? She would've  _died_ if Lauren hadn't somehow managed to have them escape from Guiliano Sporelli and his demented sister. How she did that exactly, Dick still wasn't sure.

"Argent, you would've  _died_ if Lauren hadn't managed to get you two to the Zeta tube in San Francisco and then to Mount Justice. Do you know what would've happened if you hadn't made it?" he saw Reese clench her eyes shut and bite her lip, still staring at the floor. "You. Would've.  _Died_ ," he stepped towards her, and placed his hands on each of her cheeks, tilting her head towards him so she would look him in the eye. "And I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything like that were to ever happen to you,"

Reese's face was stained with tear streaks, and a few were still leaking out of her eyes. Dick quickly pressed his lips to her skin and kissed the tears away before leaning back and laying his forehead against Reese's.

"I love you, Rhysalin Blaire," he whispered. "And I don't want you to  _ever_ think that the world would be a better place without you in it. You bring a sort of... _light_ to Gotham, to the Team, the League, that it would break everybody's very  _soul_ if something were to happen to you," Reese let out a choked little laugh, and lifted one of her hands up so it lay over his own.

"I think that may be a _wee_ bit extreme, Bluebird," she said quietly, and Dick's lip quirked up into a small smile. "I don't think I'm  _that_ important," Dick shook his head.

"You're wrong, Reese," he said simply. "Trust me when I say you  _are_ that important. To the Team, the Justice League," Dick leaned forward again until his nose was angled against Reese's and their lips were barely an inch apart. "And to me," In the dim light that came from the moonlight shining through his window, Dick saw Reese's eyes shine for a second before she was kissing him, and Dick weaved his fingers through her hair, kissing her back, slowly leading her into his room after he had pushed his door shut with his foot.

It had been almost two weeks since Dick had  _really_ kissed Reese, and needless to say, he was deprived. Dick's tongue slid across Reese's in a sensual dance, and he couldn't help but think how immensely grateful he was that Lauren had managed to take initiative as she had and help the both of them escape from Sporelli and his sister.

The back of Dick's knees hit the side of his bed, and he fell back onto his comforter, his lips still locked with Reese's as she ran her fingers through his hair and tugged on the jet-black strands, earning a groan from the back of Dick's throat. Nightwing braced one hand on Reese's back before he turned around and flipped their positions so Reese's back was pressed against his mattress and Dick was hovering above her.

"I...missed...you...so...much..." Dick said as he kissed his way along the side of Reese's neck, earning a satisfied hum from his girlfriend. His fingers ran along Reese's sides, but he felt her flinch underneath him when he accidentally brushed against her shoulder. Abruptly, Dick pulled back and sat up off of Reese, and slumped on the other side of his bed. How could he have forgotten? Her shoulder was still tender, and the muscle in Reese's arm had been torn really badly when she had been shot.

It was more of hit-and-miss right now more than anything if Reese would ever be able to use her bow again. Dick wished, more than almost anything in the whole world, that Reese's arm would heal as fast humanly possible, and even maybe  _inhumanly_ possible.

Dick knew how much Reese loved her bow, and not being able to use had made her almost as miserable as she was whenever she had one of her nightmares. And now, he had hurt her.

" _Richard_ ," Reese's voice jerked Dick from his thoughts, and he turned his head to look at Silverbird, whose expression was a mixture of sympathy and exasperation, and Nightwing had a feeling she had been trying to get his attention for a while.

"Hmm?" he asked, and Reese sighed before she leaned over and pressed her lips to the underside of Dick's jaw, and no matter how hard he tried, Dick wasn't able to suppress the shiver that ran through his bones when he felt her lips flutter against his skin.

"You don't have to act like I'll break every time we interact," she said quietly, a single eyebrow raised. "I'm not some damsel in distress," Despite everything, Dick let out a small chuckle at Reese's words.

"Please, Rhysalin," he scoffed, shifting closer to Reese on his bed and ghosting his lips over hers for a split-second before leaning back, a smirk dancing across his face. "You are the  _furthest_ from a damsel in distress," Reese's face suddenly took on a sullen look, and Dick gazed at her, the silvery moonlight making half her face show up in light, the other half in shadow. "Argent, what's wrong?" Reese sighed and turned over on her side so the two of them were facing each other.

"That's the thing, Dick," she said quietly, almost a whisper, and she tilted her head up to look Nightwing in the eye. "I  _am_ a damsel in distress. I mean, think about it," she added as Dick opened his mouth to contradict her statement. "Ever since I became a superhero, I have been kidnapped no less than  _eight_  times and been killed at least twice that much! And I'm not even counting the Team's missions!"

Dick was speechless. He truly...didn't know what to say. So, instead of saying anything, all Nightwing did was wrap his arm underneath Reese's waist and tug her towards him until she was pressed flush against his chest. Dick turned his head and pressed his lips to the crown of Reese's head, inhaling the smell of her strawberry-scented shampoo.

"Even if you are a damsel in distress," he whispered against Reese's hair, relishing in the fact that she seemed to calm down when he spoke. "I'll always be your knight in black-and-blue Kevlar. There to rescue you if you need rescuing," He couldn't see Reese's face, but Dick knew she was smiling.

"Thanks, Bluebird," she whispered, and opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off with a massive yawn. Dick chuckled, then leaned his head down to press his lips to the bandages on Reese's shoulder.

"Tired, Rhysalin?" he asked teasingly, but Reese only hummed in response and burrowed deeper into Dick's blankets, curling her head so it was tucked into the crook of Dick's neck. Within a few seconds, she was asleep. Dick was glad, she needed the rest. Hopefully, Reese wouldn't have any more nightmares for a while.

He kissed the top of Reese's head one more time before he too shut his eyes, and was asleep himself a few minutes later.

**Gotham City; April 12th, 11:30 EST**

Lauren

The girl looked cautiously around her surroundings, making a note of where every suspicious person could or would be hiding. It was one of the rare sunny days in Gotham City, and Lauren thought it was a prime opportunity to see if she could make what she saw this morning appear again.

It had been just before the whole "intruder in the middle of the night" thing, and to be honest, Lauren wasn't even entirely sure of what she had seen at first. Which was why she had taken one of Reese's larger tote bags that she  _never_ uses and had lugged the Aureum Carceris out of the vault it had been in the Batcave, and to one of Gotham's cleaner, but less popular parks.

She looked around again, not even caring if she looked like some sort of psychopath, and slipped into a small grove of oak trees that were on the edge of the park. Once she was out of sight of one of the main path, Lauren set the tote bag down on the grass and lifted the Aureum Carceris out carefully to set it on an old tree stump next to her. 

In the faint Gotham sun, Lauren could see the Aureum Carceris glowing slightly, much like it had been this morning. Now, whenever she was near it, Lauren's hands would always tingle, then start to...

"Ren, you're  _glowing_ ," a shocked voice sounded from behind her, and Lauren whipped around to see Jason dressed in a pair of jeans and a red jacket, standing just inside the oak grove with her, his blue eyes wide. Lauren glanced down to see that her body was engulfed in warm golden light and quickly diminished it.

"Really?" she asked, trying to feign innocence. "I hadn't noticed," Jason's face took on a disbelieving look, and he raised an eyebrow before walking closer to her.

"Really?" he asked, echoing Lauren's earlier words. "Because to me, you just looked like you were either A) an industrial grade flashlight or B) some sort of weird candle," Lauren crossed her arms and glared at Jason, though a smirk was tugging at her lips.

"Nice to know that you think I'm weird Jay-bird," she internally cackled as she watched Jason's eyes widen as he realized what he had said earlier before he was hurriedly waving his hands in front of Lauren's face, trying to make up for the earlier statement about Lauren being "weird".

"No, no, no!" he cried. "That wasn't what I meant, Lauren!" As he tried desperately to explain himself, Lauren couldn't help but laugh. Sometimes Jason was just too damn cute. Maybe that was why she liked him so much.

"Calm down, Jason," Lauren said softly, bumping Jason's shoulder with her own. "I was kidding," Jason gave a sigh of relief, and Lauren smiled, but just as quickly his face turned serious, and Lauren knew she was in for a lecture.

"Why didn't you tell me you could _glow_?" he cried out, exasperated, throwing his hands up in the air, and Lauren winced.

"Sorry," she whispered, putting the Aureum Carceris back into the tote bag and plopping herself down onto the tree stump. "I just...there's been so much going on, I just never found the time to tell you. Reese doesn't even know," Jason's face turned sympathetic, and he sat down on the stump next to Lauren, close enough that their legs were brushing.

"It's okay, Ren," Jason said quietly and seemed to think about something for a minute before he reached over and set one of his hands on Lauren's, making Reese's little sister flush a bright red. "I understand why you didn't tell anyone," Lauren gained control back over her blush and glanced at Jason from the corner of her eye, skeptical.

"You do?" she asked, eyebrow raised, and Robin nodded in response.

"I do. You're right, we  _have_ been busy. With Silver Banshee, and the Sporelli's, and Reese's nightmares...none of us have really had any free time. Is that why you come out here?" Lauren looked up at him. That was when she realized that Jason Todd was almost two inches taller than she was, and Reese guessed he might be as tall as Dick's shoulder, maybe a bit shorter. In response to his question, Lauren gave a small nod.

"Yeah. Since everyone else has been so...busy, I've been training myself to control...whatever this is," she held up her other hand and summoned a small ball of golden light into her palm. "I think I've gotten pretty good at it, even though I've only been practicing since Reese and I got back from..." all of a sudden, memories flashed through Lauren's mind, of Alexandra torturing Reese, and of making Lauren watch as her sister cried out in pain as she was either electrocuted through the inhibitor collar, or cut with some type of blade.

"Lauren... _Lauren_!" she was drawn from her thoughts by Jason's voice and judging from the volume, he had been trying to get her attention for a while.

"What?" she asked, and Robin sighed.

"Ren, I don't expect you to immediately open up about what you and Reese went through in Star City and San Francisco, but...it's been a  _week_! You need to talk to someone. Reese has Dick...you need someone too, Lauren," suddenly feeling a heaviness enter her chest, Lauren bit her lip and looked down at her hands, the left of which was still wrapped securely and comfortingly in Jason's own.

"The thing is, Jason..." she trailed off, before her head snapped up, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. "I don't know  _how_ to talk to someone," Jason let go of her hand and gently swiped the tears away from underneath Lauren's eyes. He seemed to think hard about something for a few seconds before he turned back to Lauren.

"Did I ever tell you how I became Robin?" he asked, and Lauren stared at him.

"No," she said softly. "It never came up. Why?" Jason scratched the back of his neck and suddenly looked very sheepish.

"Do you want to hear about it?" he asked, and Lauren's eyes widened. Ever since she had met him, Lauren considered Jason Todd to be one of her best friends, even if she did sometimes want to be more, but one thing the two of them never talked about was Jason's past before he became the second Robin. All she could do was nod, and Jason sighed for a minute before he spoke.

"Well...before I came to live with Bruce and Dick, my home life wasn't...the _greatest_. My dad...he was a crook, and actually ended up in prison for it. After he got out though, he basically abandoned me and my mom, and since my mom was a druggie, it was up to me to somehow get money for the two of us. To survive, I-I became a thief. I'd take off parts from abandoned cars and then sell them to get money. But then...my mother...she died from an overdose one night..." he trailed off, and Lauren noticed that Jason was biting his bottom lip, trying not to cry.

Leaning over, Lauren leaned her head against the second Robin's shoulder, and after a few minutes, Jason calmed down again and continued his backstory.

"I-I was alone. So, I kept stealing car parts. Until one night...it's pretty funny actually," Lauren glanced up at Jason and was surprised to see that there was a small smile on his face.

"What happened?" she asked, and the second Robin chuckled.

"I, uh, tried to steal the tires off the Batmobile," his voice was quiet, almost a whisper, and for a moment Lauren just blinked at him, before she started to laugh. She was laughing so hard, she almost fell off the edge of the tree stump, but at the last second Jason's arm flashed out and wrapped around Lauren's waist, holding her in place.

For a second, the world seemed to go in slow motion. All that Lauren could see was Jason Todd's styled black hair, the strands faintly fluttering in the warm April breeze. Before she was able to contradict herself, Lauren snapped her head up and pecked Jason's lips for a split-second before she leaned back, her face flaming red. She was glad to see though that Jason's face wasn't much better.

"What was that for?" he asked, and Lauren shrugged, still feeling like her face was as red as Wally's hair.

"I don't know. I guess a...thank you, for being there. I'm glad I met you, Jason Peter Todd," she said quietly, and the second Robin gave a small smile.

"Well, I'm glad I met _you_ , Laurenelle Becca Delilah Michaels," Lauren gave a small giggle and glanced up at the sky for a second before turning back towards Jason.

"Sometimes I wonder why mine and Reese's parents decided to give us such  _obscure_ names," Jason laughed himself and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. I kind of like the unique names. I mean, I think 'Rhysalin' means something about enthusiasm, and I don't know about you, but I looked it up, and Laurenelle means 'she who is strong'. I think it's pretty badass, to be honest," Lauren scoffed.

"You actually  _googled_ what my name means?" she asked, and Jason shrugged.

"I was curious. Now," he clapped his hands together and made grabbing motions toward Lauren's tote bag, where the Aureum Carceris was safely stored. "I want to see this alien rock that gave you superpowers," Lauren rolled her eyes.

"I don't care  _what_ that rock did to me, but I am  _not_ going to be a superhero," For a second, Jason just stared at her, and Lauren wondered if he had even fully comprehended what she had said. After a few seconds, he spoke.

"What? Why not?" Lauren sighed and stood up off the stump, leaving Jason sitting there, looking up at her, confused. She started to pace, walking one way in front of Jason before turning around and walking in the opposite direction. Then repeating the action over and over again.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, it would be absolutely  _amazing_ to be a hero/vigilante and work with the rest of you. But, Reese has made it  _abundantly_ clear that I am never, and I mean  _never_ to take up a superhero mantle. She said it's 'too dangerous'," Lauren used her fingers as quotation marks when she echoed what her sister had said soon after she had gone from Silver X to Silverbird, and truthfully Lauren found it a bit silly.

"She's not wrong," Jason said seriously, and Lauren glanced up at him. "Being a hero's dangerous. Some are more a target than others, like Silverbird, for example. Scarecrow, the Leech, the League of Shadows? They've all made it their mission to make sure Reese doesn't stay a hero for long. Also, if someone you were close to were to find out one of our identities, they would be in major danger from every one of our enemies. I think your sister just wanted to see you safe," Lauren crossed her arms.

"Bang-up job there," she said sarcastically, before sighing and reaching into the tote and pulling out the Aureum Carceris, which seemed to faintly pulse with the same golden light that came out of Lauren's hands. But, before Jason could grab onto it, a sharp voice from across the clearing caught Lauren and Jason's attention.

"Hey! That is an alien artifact! You must return it!" Lauren's head snapped up, along with Jason's, and the two's eyes widened when they saw the scientist from S.T.A.R Labs, Natalie Gobachov, striding towards them from across the clearing. And she did  _not_ look happy. Maybe it was because Lauren was currently still holding the S.T.A.R Labs project that had been stolen almost two weeks ago, but there was certainly a whole lot of rage prominent on Gobachov's face.

Jason, seeming to know exactly what to do, took the Aureum Carceris and stuffed it into Lauren's tote bag, before grabbing her hand and dragging her out of the clearing and onto the main path of the park.

"Come on!" he cried, making Lauren start to run after him, the tote bag thumping against her side. "We have to lose her!" Behind them, Lauren could hear Dr. Gobachov start to run, the high-pitched footsteps indicating she was wearing heels of some sort.

It was by now a little while after noon, so there were more people around, giving Lauren and Jason a prime opportunity to slip into a large crowd and,  _hopefully_ , lose Gobachov. Alas, that was  _not_ what happened.

Lauren had just weaved around a particularly large man and suddenly found herself face-to-face with the Russian scientist, who had a cruel sneer twisting her lips. Somewhere along the way Lauren and Jason had separated, and now Lauren was on her own.

"You  _insolent_ little girl!" Gobachov hissed, the pedestrians around them paying no attention. This was Gotham, after all. "Do you have  _any idea_ what you've done?" Dr. Gobachov reached out a hand as if to grab for Lauren, and all the younger girl was able to think about was when Alexandra and Guiliano Sporelli had snatched her and Reese in Star City. Lauren felt herself freeze up in fear, and Gobachov's hand got closer.

But, just as it was about to latch itself onto the strap of Lauren's bag, where Reese's sister was only just able to see the faint glowing of the Aureum Carceris, there was a faint whistling sound and a flash of metal, before Gobachov clutched her hand in pain, yanking it away from Lauren.

On the sidewalk next to Gobachov's feet was a small boomerang-shaped object, a few spots of blood on the serrated edge. The boomerang was shaped like a bat. Before she was able to process anything, a figure swooped down from a rooftop above Lauren's head and swept her away, causing Reese's sister to instantly wrap her arms around her savior's neck, earning her a familiar-sounding chuckle.

"Wow, Ren. I didn't know you would fall for me  _that_ quickly," Lauren felt her feet land on what felt like a secure ground, and she cracked one eye open, only to find Robin smirking across from her. She scoffed and opened both her eyes before rolling them, though she was secretly grateful that Jason had gotten her out of there when he did.

"You wish, Jay-bird," she said, trying not to let the blush show on her face. "You'll have to try harder than that to make me fall in love with you," Jason only waved a hand as if to say 'easy-peasy'.

"Of course, but weren't  _you_ the one who kissed me first before Gobachov ran into the clearing?" Lauren felt her face flush and had to admit he had a point. She  _had_ kissed Jason back on the tree stump. Then, that was when everything went to a screeching halt in Lauren's mind. Oh my god, she had  _kissed Jason_! Her crush, the guy that her sister had taken Christmas shopping back in December before Luke had been killed, and Lauren was pretty sure that Reese had grilled Robin until he was well-done.

Quickly, Lauren had Jason take her back to the Manor on his own R-Cycle that was basically a revamped version of Dick's old one, and as soon as the two had parked in the Batcave, Lauren had practically flown up the stairs, ignoring Jason's questions as to where she was going. 

After dropping the tote bag off in her room and safely slipping the Aureum Carceris back into the vault, Lauren slipped into Dick's room, where she was sure Reese had fallen asleep, no doubt after making out with Dick for a while. Seriously, those two thought they were so sneaky, but didn't they remember that there were  _other people_ who lived in the Manor? Sure enough, there Reese was, both her and Nightwing sleeping soundly, even though it was almost one in the afternoon.

First, before she went to wake her sister up, Lauren flipped on the lights, flooding Dick's bedroom with artificial sunlight. Then, even though it wasn't April Fool's, she crept forward, quiet as a mouse, and reached out to rip the covers off of both of them, but before she could, Reese's hand flashed out and wrapped itself around Lauren's wrist.

The younger Michaels' sister froze and slowly turned to see that Reese's eyes were wide open, and she was gazing at Lauren with a slightly disapproving look, but there were glimmers of amusement in her dark brown eyes.

"How are you-" Reese cut Lauren off by tapping one nail against her ear.

"Super-hearing, remember? I heard you as soon as you and Jason got back to the Manor," Lauren gave a slightly sheepish nod, and Reese smiled before turning around to wake up Dick. Nightwing shot up, eyes wide, and Lauren had a feeling he hadn't been in as deep a sleep as she originally thought. Turning to Reese, Dick spoke up.

"You feeling better?" he asked, and Lauren saw her sister nod. After a few minutes of them staring into each other's eyes like the sickeningly cute couple they were, Lauren cleared her throat, making the two look towards her.

"Yeah, _hi_. I'm still here. Now, before you two go and do whatever it is you two do when no one else is here, Reese, I need to talk to you," she reached forward and yanked her sister off of Dick's bed before dragging her downstairs into the dining room, where the two ran into Alfred.

"Why, good morning Miss Rhysalin," the butler said fondly as Reese and Lauren stumbled into the kitchen, where he was currently dusting some of the counters off. "I trust you slept better than earlier last night?" Reese gave another small nod before Alfred reached inside of the fridge and took out a plate that held what looked like a turkey sandwich. He set it down on the island before the doorbell rang, making all three of their heads turn to look at the massive oak front door. 

"That's weird," Lauren said. "Was anybody supposed to be coming today?" Alfred shook his head. "It might be Wally and Artemis," this time, it was Reese who shook her head.

"No, Wally doesn't knock," Alfred went to go open the door, but Reese quickly held out a hand. "Wait, Alfred, I can open the door," she said quietly, and the British butler looked skeptical but eventually relented, and Reese stood to go over and answer the door.

Lauren followed her sister if only to find out who would be coming to see Bruce Wayne at one in the afternoon. She was several paces behind Reese and was only halfway across the living room when her older sister opened the door.

"Hello, can I help-BANG!" the sound of a gunshot echoed through the Manor and Lauren sprinted through the rest of the living room and into the foyer of Wayne Manor, only to see Reese standing in front of the open door, a large red stain beginning to spread across the bottom of her t-shirt. Lauren's head snapped up to see Dr. Gobachov standing in the doorway, a handgun in hand and a cruel and malicious smile twisting her lips.

Dick, Bruce, Alfred, and Jason skidded into the foyer and the way Dick's face paled to be as white as a sheet when he saw Reese made Lauren's blood run cold. Before she was fully able to process anything, Reese had begun to fall towards the ground, prompting Nightwing to leap forward and catch her seconds before she would've hit the floor.

Lauren could see the gunshot wound was starting to bleed faster, and now almost the entire bottom hem of Reese's shirt was dark red with blood.

She didn't even notice her hands had started shaking until Jason stepped forward and gently held them in his.

"Ren, what happened?" he asked quietly, and as Bruce quickly called Leslie Thompkins, a doctor friend of his who could hopefully help Reese, Lauren felt hot, ugly tears gather in the corners of her eyes. As she started to cry, Lauren glanced up at Jason.

"I-It was G-Gobachov," she managed to stammer out between her tears. "Jason, if I hadn't taken that Aureum Carceris, none of this would've happened. Reese would be okay, she wouldn't currently be fighting for her life because of a gunshot to the stomach. This is all my fault..."

_All my fault..._


	17. Chapter 16...Potential

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their only lead locks them in a metal box, almost kills them, then blows up his apartment building, Batman, Silverbird, and Nightwing try to track down Dr. Gobachov to figure out why she shot Reese, and some of Silverbird's family secrets come to light, ones that even she didn't know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> faint Nolan Batman reference

**Metropolis; April 21st, 22:40 EST**

Reese

Silverbird perched in the stone rafters, watching as the man stepped out of his car and walked across the parking garage towards the elevator that would take him up to his penthouse apartment in one of the most upscale neighborhoods in Metropolis.

Marcus Blanco. Ph.D. in Alien Tech at S.T.A.R Labs, and a known associate of Natalie Gobachov. He was the one, along with Gobachov, who had originally found and named the Aureum Carceris outside the city earlier that year and had also been the one to take credit for the discovery.

This was also their first lead/connection to Gobachov in a week, and Reese was more than ready to catch the woman who had shot her and throw her in prison for as long as possible. Subconsciously, Reese pressed a hand against her abdomen, where she could still feel the gauzy bandages Dick had wrapped around her wound before they, along with Batman, had left the Batcave.

Nightwing hadn't been happy when Reese had insisted on going with the two male heroes to Metropolis, but Reese knew that Dick knew that you couldn't really change her mind once she had gotten an idea, so Nightwing had given in, and while Batman prowled the floor of the parking garage, trying to find anything of importance, Nightwing and Silverbird were up in the rafters, making their way stealthily along the concrete beams, making sure no one else was in the parking garage that could deter their investigation.

"Clear," Reese spoke quietly once she had finished patrolling her section of the garage. Bruce's voice filtered through next.

" _The entrance ramp is clear as well. Nightwing?_ " It was silent for a few minutes, causing Reese to strain her hearing and she was only just able to catch thuds and the sounds of fighting in the distance, at the other end of the parking garage.

"Batman, I think he's in trouble," Reese spoke into her commlink. "I'm closest to Dick's sector, I'll check in,"

" _Roger that, Silverbird, I'll meet you there. Batman out_ ," Silverbird quickly nocked an arrow, shooting a grappling line across the parking garage, and the arrowhead lodged itself into some concrete several meters away. Reese anchored the other end of the line to the rafter and hooked her bow to the grappling line, using it as a sort of zip line.

She landed behind a Range Rover, and on the other side, Reese could hear the sound of whoever dared mess with Nightwing getting their asses handed to them. That is until there was the subtle sound of a gun being cocked. If she hadn't had super-hearing, Silverbird wasn't sure she would've caught it.

Popping her head up, Reese saw Dick on the ground, one of the thugs, who was wearing a stereotypical black ski mask, standing over the fallen vigilante. But, he wasn't the one who had cocked the gun. It was the man standing behind him, wearing a pristine black suit, who was the one with the firearm.

The man was Marcus Blanco. How had he gotten off the elevator back into the garage without Reese, or Bruce for that matter, noticing? Needless to say, Reese was punching herself for that one. Standing up, Silverbird nocked another arrow and pointed it in between the thug and Blanco, so it would be easy to move either way _should_ either of them move.

"Step away from Nightwing," Reese said firmly, and silently preened as she saw the thug's face drop. She couldn't  _actually_ see his facial expression behind the ski mask, but she'd been scaring Wally long enough to figure as to what it looked like. But, this small-time criminal must be some special sort of dumbass, because instead of backing off, which was what he most likely  _should_ have done, the man cocked a pistol that was suddenly in his hand, and pointed the barrel towards Dick's face.

"What if I don't want to?" he asked, not turning away from Nightwing, but speaking to Reese. "Your little boyfriend here is named after a Kryptonian god, isn't he? Should we see if there's any relation to this city's hero?" For a second, all Reese could do was blink. Was this guy delusional? The public knew that Batman  _and_ his partners were all human, to some degree, but did he really think that Nightwing could somehow be related to Superman?

"I'd advise you to listen to her," a deep baritone voice sounded from off to Reese's left, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Bruce step from the shadows. "Nightwing doesn't have any alien powers. None of us do," Reese also thought it funny he specified about the  _alien_ aspect of powers when Reese herself was a metahuman. Either way, if the thug had been freaked out when  _Silverbird_ had startled him, he was absolutely petrified when he caught sight of Batman.

"Uh...Y-You know what?" the would-be criminal managed to stammer out. "I was just leaving. Good day to you three," Tipping an imaginary hat, he whipped around, only for Marcus Blanco to fire three solid rounds into the man's chest. Reese let the arrow she was holding fly, and it flew true towards Blanco's own torso, but before it was able to pierce his skin, the scientist's hand flashed out and wrapped around the shaft, stopping it in midair.

All three heroes, _including_ Batman, were shocked stock-still as Nightwing shakily climbed to his feet. After a few minutes of them silently staring at each other, Bruce finally spoke, and Reese drew her bowstring back again, pointing another arrow towards the man who seemed to have fast enough reflexes to catch an arrow that was going almost two-hundred-miles-per-hour.

"Marcus Blanco?" Blanco raised his arms in what Reese assumed to be some sort of grand entrance gesture, but all it did was make everyone tense up a bit, Reese's fingers tightening around her bowstring.

"The one and only!" he exclaimed, before folding his hands behind his back and leaning forward. "To what do I owe this tremendous pleasure?" Reese jerked her head towards the limp body of the criminal who would have shot Nightwing, had Blanco not interfered.

"You killed him," she said bluntly, and Blanco gave a firm nod.

"I did," he confessed, before tilting his head in a way that conveyed smugness. "I trust, though, that you are no stranger to death?" None of them answered, but Reese tightened her grip on her bow even more than it already was.

"Why did you shoot him?" Bruce asked, his cowl lenses narrowed to white slits, and despite himself, Blanco  _shrugged_ , causing Reese to stare at him with a mixture of disgust and confusion. This guy was more twisted than she originally thought.

"He was a pest. Also, if I had let him shoot dear young Nightwing over here, we wouldn't have been able to talk, now would we?" Reese had to admit, the twisted son of a bitch had a point. Still keeping her masked gaze straight on him, Silverbird lowered her bow.

"We could have you arrested for murder," Dick said solemnly, eskrima sticks held tightly in his fists. "There were three witnesses, one of which is a founder of the Justice League. You won't be able to get free,"

Instead of surrendering and having Batman call the Metropolis Police, Blanco only shrugged again, before gesturing towards the elevator.

"I have a feeling I already know why you three are here," he said simply. "And I'd very much prefer it if we were to talk in my study upstairs. Though, please don't wake my son. He's only just turned sixteen and is studying for his final exams," Silverbird exchanged a skeptical glance with Nightwing, who in turn looked towards Batman. Bruce seemed to contemplate the offer for several minutes before finally, he nodded.

"Okay," Batman said firmly, his voice modulator making his voice sound gravelly. "On one condition. If you try to double-cross us in  _any_ way, Superman and the MPD will be outside your apartment like  _that_ ," he snapped his fingers, and Reese saw Blanco flinch.

"O-of course," he managed to stammer out before all four of them made their way to the elevator that would bring them up to the penthouse.

To say the ride up to Blanco's penthouse would be awkward would be an understatement. The scientist kept whistling a tune that Reese could've sworn she had heard before, but couldn't for the life of her remember where from.

Batman was just standing in the center of the elevator, fists clenched at his sides, and a growing frown forming on his face that hinted at a scowl.

And Dick? Well, as far as Reese could tell, Nightwing was looking through the building's schematics on his holo-glove, as if Blanco would somehow, some way, bring them down to some sort of sub-basement, fifty-two levels beneath the surface.

Finally, though, the elevator doors slid open, revealing the grandiose interior of the S.T.A.R Labs scientist's penthouse. It was the type of decor that came from spending a lot of money on a lot of useless things.

Gold-leaf gilded portraits of unsmiling people who looked like they belonged in the era of the Justice Society. Mahogany wood tables and paneling that, in any other place, would look gorgeous, but in here it just looked tacky.

Blanco led the three superheroes down a long, carpeted hallway, and the first door they came to was cracked open an inch or two. Feeling a bit curious, Silverbird set her glove against the oak wood door and went to push it open, only for her breath to catch in her throat.

Her. The room, which looked to be some sort of study, was filled to the brim with pictures and news articles of her. A mix of Silverbird's escapades with the Team and in Gotham, older articles, back from when she was Silver X, and...pictures of her in Gotham as Reese, which was  _beyond_ creepy.

"What  _is_ this place?" Reese breathed out as Nightwing came to stand behind her for a moment, taking in the sight before them. Reese had a feeling that Dick was about to lose it, because the next thing she knew Blanco was slammed against the corridor's wall, making a few of the paintings rattle in their frames, with one of Nightwing's eskrima sticks pressed hard against his throat.

"What kind of _sick_ bastard are you?" Dick growled, and Reese was shocked, to say the least. She'd seen Dick lose his temper before, with Sporelli, and Luke, but this was different. It wasn't just protectiveness anymore, which Reese was fine with. This was pure and unadulterated _fear_. Silverbird didn't think she had  _ever_ seen Nightwing this scared, except for maybe right after she and Lauren had been taken by Sporelli and his sister, and then later escaped from them, but either way, seeing Dick this scared, was scaring  _her_.

"I assure you, it isn't what it looks like," Blanco tried to justify himself, while also trying to placate Nightwing at the same time, but Silverbird wasn't buying it, and instead Reese extended her bow and pointed a tungsten-tipped obsidian arrow at Blanco's head from behind Dick, and watched as the man began to squirm.

"How long have you been watching me?" Silverbird said carefully, keeping a close eye on Nightwing if only to make sure Dick didn't  _actually_ kill Blanco. In response to her question, the S.T.A.R Labs scientist only gave a dismissive shrug.

"Long enough," he said simply, demeanor changing in an instant. "You're a very special girl,  _Rhysalin_. Able to bounce back from killing a man with barely a second thought? Sometimes I wonder if Gotham's Archer even has a heart-" his head suddenly snapped to the side as Nightwing lashed out, slamming his fist into Blanco's cheek, causing the man to spit a glob of blood out onto the thick Persian rug as he crumpled to the floor.

"How do you know about that?" Bruce asked, his voice sounding as if _he_ were about to explode. Reese meanwhile was petrified, her bow now pointed towards the ground. This didn't make any sense. She had been absolutely 100% sure after she had killed Wilmer, that Dick would've had Batman clean up the whole mess. How had someone found out about it? Even though his cheek was beginning to swell up from Nightwing's punch, Blanco let out a sinister-sounding chuckle, and it made Reese's blood run cold.

"You really have  _no idea_ who you are, do you?" he asked her, and behind her mask, Silverbird raised an eyebrow. "No idea of the potential your power holds? Pity really..." he trailed off, and before Dick was able to explode again, Reese reached down and grasped the lapels of Blanco's suit jacket, slamming him against the corridor's wall, making the pictures rattle again.

"I don't know _who_ the hell you think I am," Reese hissed, bringing her face close to Blanco's and beginning to lose her temper. "But I assure you, if we find out that you've kept anything else from us while we're here, I'll scream, and then your brains will be leaking out of your  _ears_ ," Silverbird had literally no idea where the sudden anger had come from, but she counted it as an advantage when Blanco started to sweat, and he sighed.

"Then I guess you'll need to see this," Blanco said simply before his eyes flickered over Reese's shoulder. "Please put me down," Silverbird only scoffed before she let go of Blanco, and he tumbled to the ground, quickly scrambling to his feet and stepping further into the "study".

Blanco headed briskly over to the desktop computer that sat on a table on the far side of the room, where he bent over the keyboard and tapped for a few seconds, presumably logging in, before he stepped back and gestured to the screen.

Still extremely skeptical of the man, Reese watched him warily from the corner of her eye as she, Bruce, and Dick made their way over to the computer. When they saw what was on the screen, Reese saw Dick's entire body tense from the edge of her vision, and she clamped a hand down around his wrist, holding him in place. Meanwhile, the video file, which looked to be a live security feed from  _inside_ Wayne Manor, showed Lauren and Jason asleep on the couch in the living room.

There was a sudden click, and all three Gotham heroes whipped around to see that Blanco had shut the door, locking them inside while he was "safe" in the corridor. There was a shrill beeping noise before the wood around the door fell away, revealing a shiny steel door. Reese spun around, watching as each wall of the study, filled with the pictures of her, retracted into the floor, revealing the actual walls that were also made of steel.

"Blanco!" Reese cried, her voice echoing in the now seamless steel box. "What do you think you're doing?" the scientist's voice suddenly crackled to life from a black speaker in the top corner of the box, and it sounded like a PA system.

" _Well, I can't very well let you three leave now that you know so much, could I?_ " Even though Blanco could probably see them when he undoubtedly installed a camera inside this strange metal box/cage/prison... _thing_ , Reese didn't care and instead turned towards the speaker, where she figured the camera was and flipped Blanco off. 

" _Tsk, tsk, Silverbird_ ," his voice continued, causing Reese's teeth to grind. " _That's hardly a respectable way for a lady to act_ ," He was seriously starting to get on Silverbird's nerves, but instead of flipping Blanco off  _again_ Reese instead opted for signaling to Bruce and Dick behind her back, so Blanco couldn't see and situated herself in front of the door. " _I wouldn't try and scream, Silverbird,_ " Blanco cooed through the speaker, but Reese ignored him, spreading her feet.

When she screamed, the Canary Cry exited her mouth as waves of sound, like usual, but when they hit the door, the waves bounced off, and slammed right back into Reese, throwing her into the far wall, ears ringing.

" _I told you_ ," Blanco sing-songed through the speaker as Batman and Nightwing hurried to Reese's side as Silverbird wearily lifted her head. " _Now, let's see what the city thinks when they suddenly see three of the superheroes they so graciously admire falling from the sky,_ " As the ringing in Reese's ears subsided, her head snapped up at Blanco's words as Nightwing helped her stand, but before she could regain her balance, the box gave a vicious shake, and all three fell to the ground.

Then, before Reese was able to process what was going on, the box started to fall, and through the thick steel walls, she could hear the sound of breaking glass, and Silverbird presumed they had been thrown, somehow, out of the penthouse window. Great, just  _great_.

Through the speakers, Blanco began to whistle that blasted tune again, the same one he had been humming in the elevator. The same song that Reese  _knew_ she recognized, but couldn't for the life fo her remember where from. She clenched her eyes shut behind her mask, trying to remember when suddenly her eyes flew open, and she turned her head towards the speaker.

"That song," she spoke towards it, and felt Dick's grip tighten around her waist. "when I was younger, my mother used to sing it to me. What is it called?" There were a few seconds of silence before Blanco answered, but when he did Reese felt her blood run like ice through her veins.

" _The song is called Sagitta Argentum. It's an old folk song sung in Latin in the ancient city of Pompeii before it was destroyed. The title means-_ " Reese abruptly cut Blanco off as everything started to fall into place in her brain.

"Silver Arrow," she whispered, before disentangling herself from Dick's hold and turning towards the door. Ignoring Nightwing's look for her to stop, Silverbird backed up, before taking a running start and slamming her shoulder into the steel door, a resounding crack from Reese's joint echoing through the box as her shoulder was dislocated. But, the door was now open.

The bad thing was, the three superheroes were still falling seventeen-hundred feet to the ground, and because of her momentum, Reese almost fell through the opening, had Dick not reached forward and wrapped his hand around Silverbird's uninjured wrist at the last second, swiftly tugging her back inside.

Silverbird and Nightwing both tumbled to the ground, and the wind began to whistle through the opening where the door used to be, acting like a vacuum, and it began to suck everything out. Dick grabbed the edge of a desk that was bolted to the steel, and Reese latched onto his forearm, Nightwing doing the same with her.

Batman grabbed onto the other side of the desk with one hand, reaching up to tap his commlink with his other.

"Batman to Superman," he said simply, and using her super hearing, Reese strained to catch Clark Kent's words.

" _Bruce, it's the middle of the night, why are you calling_?" Even though Silverbird couldn't see Batman's blue eyes behind his cowl lenses, Reese knew that they were narrowed in an irritated grimace, as Brue tried to reason with Superman.

"Silverbird, Nightwing and I are currently in a seamless steel box falling through the sky one-thousand-and-seven-hundred feet towards the ground. I would... _appreciate_ it if you were to not let us get killed,"

" _What?_ " Superman sounded shocked, and Reese rolled her eyes, before reaching up, albeit with her injured arm, grimacing in pain, and tapped her commlink, joining Bruce and Clark's conversation.

"Steel box. Falling towards the ground. We're about to die!" The ground was now less than two hundred feet away, and Reese clenched her eyes shut as Nightwing pulled her up to she could grab onto the desk, shielding her.

" _This_ is gonna hurt," Reese heard Dick whisper, half in her ear and a half to himself, and she nodded slightly in agreement. 

Just as the box hit the ground, there was a jolt, throwing Dick's body against Reese's back, before the box started to rise again, and Reese let out all her breath in a huge sigh of relief as she felt Nightwing quickly kiss her cheek as Superman set the box down on firm ground.

"You guys okay?" Reese heard Clark's voice from outside, and she shakily stood up.

"We're fine Superman!" she called back. Looking around, Reese suddenly realized that, when Superman had caught them, and then set their "cage" back on the ground, he had inadvertently set it on its side, so the opening that used to be the door was laying face-down on the ground, and there was now no way for the three heroes to get out. Before she could say anything, there was a brief sizzle, before twin beams of heat vision blasted through the metallic steel wall, six inches from Reese's face, causing her to let out a surprised squeak.

"Hey!" she called up through the hole that was quickly forming in the wall as Clark's heat vision melted the steel. "Next time, watch where you're aiming those things!"

"Sorry," Superman apologized sheepishly and extended a hand, which Reese took gratefully. Once they were all out on the midnight Metropolis street, Silverbird clamped a hand around her shoulder, hissing in pain as she realized that it was badly dislocated.

"See?" Nightwing asked quietly as he walked up behind her. " _This_ is what happens when you slam yourself into a steel door. Here, I'll snap it back into place for you," Reese knew that Dick had a point, but that didn't mean she had to  _agree_ with it. 

But, as Nightwing grabbed Reese's upper arm, and prepared to snap her shoulder back into place, something made Silverbird glance up at the skyscraper/high-rise apartment building they had just gotten thrown out of, in time to see the top floor erupt in a fiery explosion, just  as Dick wrenched Reese's arm, and another resounding crack echoed through the air as her shoulder was fixed, but Reese was barely able to hear it over the sudden sirens and screams that also echoed through the air.

Batman, Nightwing, and Silverbird stayed on the ground as Superman shot into the apartment building's top floor because the rest of the building seemed surprisingly structurally stable, but he hadn't even been gone five minutes before Clark was back on the ground, and Reese sighed when she noticed his grim expression.

"Blanco's gone," he said simply, and Reese swore under her breath. "Vaporized in the explosion, I figure," Silverbird let her hood fall down around her shoulders and ran her gloved fingers through her hair, beginning to pace around the street as firefighters hurriedly tried to put out the fire, but their hoses were too short. Superman glanced their way, before quickly flying over and using his freeze breath to extinguish the fire at its source.

"This whole thing is bullshit," Silverbird grumbled, now leaning against the side of the metal box, arms crossed against her chest. "We come all the way here to find  _answers_ , but all we get is attempted murder, an apartment fire, and even more questions!" Nightwing and Batman both looked a bit shocked at Reese's outburst, but Silverbird was too frustrated an angry right now to care.

Thoughts were running too fast through Reese's head for her to make much sense of them, and when she tried she just got more confused. What had Blanco meant when he said that Reese didn't know who she was? Her  _potential_? Not to mention the fact that he knew the same lullaby that Reese's mother had sung to her when Reese was little. Like she had said, this whole situation was bullshit, and her temper was beginning to run thin.

As Silverbird was stewing, Batman's voice jerked Reese from her thoughts.

"Blanco knew where Gobachov is hiding," he said simply, and Silverbird glanced up. "If we can find out everywhere he's frequented in the past week, we may be able to get another solid lead," Reese gave a reluctant nod in agreement because Bruce was right like he always was. She sighed once before she glanced up and met Batman's eyes through his cowl lenses.

"Fine," she said, standing up straight. "Where are we going next?"

**S.T.A.R Labs Metropolis; April 22nd, 00:30 EST**

The Batmobile slid to a stop a few blocks down from where both Gobachov and Blanco used to work, with Nightwing and Silverbird parking their respective motorcycles just behind the car. Hopping off, Silverbird set her helmet on the handle, before climbing up the fire escape of a nearby building, meeting Nightwing and Batman at the top.

Crouching down, Reese strained her vision through her domino mask, watching as the upgrades that Babs had put in them allowed her to zoom in on the multitude of armed guards that were patrolling the S.T.A.R Labs grounds.

"So, what's the plan?" Dick spoke up, and Bruce hummed for a second before speaking.

"We need to take care of those guards," he said simply, and Reese turned on the thermal imaging in her mask. "Not all of them, just ones isolated enough from the others that they won't be much of a problem," Reese nodded in agreement.

"I'm counting seventeen armed guards on the ground total," she spoke up. "With another six patrolling the fence," Reese felt Dick's eyes on her and she glanced up to meet Nightwing's gaze.

"Isn't that a bit excessive?" he asked, and Reese nodded. "I mean, I get it, it's S.T.A.R Labs, and they have a whole ton of secrets, but having _twenty-three_ guards in one place?"

"It makes you wonder," Bruce spoke next, his jaw set determinedly. "What they're hiding, that they don't want anyone to find out about,"

Before they could waste any more time, Reese nocked an arrow in her bow, anchored one end to the roof they were currently standing on, before shooting the obsidian-and-tungsten arrow across the street, and over several of the guards' heads, before it finally lodged itself in the roof of the laboratory.

Silverbird tugged on it, making one last check to make sure that the line was secure before she hooked her bow around the line like a zip line and glanced back over her shoulder at Nightwing and Batman.

"What are you waiting for?" she quipped, a sly smirk curling her lip. "We don't have all night," Not giving either of them a chance to answer, Reese slid down the line she had shot and rolled to a stop on the ground of S.T.A.R Labs, quickly hopping back up and pressing herself against the wall of the building as one of the guards walked past.

Silverbird shifted in her spot, but she accidentally stepped on a piece of broken glass, and it crunched beneath her boot, alerting the guard to her presence. He turned around and Reese watched his eyes widen as he realized who was standing in front of him, before Reese sprang, and slammed her bow into the guard's windpipe, cutting off his air supply, before slamming her elbow down on the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.

Reese dragged the limp form of the guard behind an alcove and made sure he was securely hidden before she suddenly heard footsteps coming from the same direction  _she_ had come from not two minutes before.

Reese slipped her retracted bō staff out of its holster on her right thigh and extended the aluminum defensive weapon, and one of the ends hit the ground with a quiet ' _shink_ '. Before Silverbird was able to electrify it, the person following her rounded the corner, and Reese was met with white mask lenses and Nightwing's raised eyebrow. Realizing who it was, Reese retracted her staff and slipped it back into its holster.

"Dammit, Dick," she hissed. "Would you mind  _telling_  me next time you're planning to do that?" Dick just chuckled, before he gestured to a nearby door that was cracked open, just enough for them to slip through.

"You planning on staying out here all night?" he asked before his jaw tightened a bit. "Or do you want to go inside and find out why exactly Blanco was acting on the border of perverse?" Reese sighed and gave a small nod, before following Nightwing inside S.T.A.R Labs.

Surprisingly, the interior of the labs seemed deserted, borderline creepy, because of the flickering emergency lights and the empty hallways. It kind of reminded Silverbird of the old abandoned mental hospital outside of Keystone, that she and her best friend Bianca O'Donaghue used to sneak into all the time to see if there were any ghosts, before Bianca and her younger sister Aurora, who was the same age as Lauren, moved to Athens for their father's new work promotion just before Reese and Bianca's junior year of high school.

The girls had fallen out of contact after that. Reese didn't even think she had told Bianca when her and Lauren's parents had been killed. Thinking of that, and the fact that Blanco obviously knew something about it, made Reese's heart suddenly clog in her throat, and pain lanced through her chest. Not physical pain, but emotional. So bad that she had to brace herself against the wall and catch her breath, also making sure that she didn't burst into tears at the drop of a hat.

She must have alerted Dick because the next second Nightwing was standing in front of her, black-gloved hands cupping Reese's face, turning her head towards his.

"Argent, what is it?" he asked quietly, but Reese didn't trust herself enough right now to speak without totally breaking down. "Are you hurt? I knew it was a bad idea to let you come with so soon after you were shot, but I couldn't say no to you because dammit Rhysalin you are  _way_ too persuasive..." Dick trailed off, but Silverbird shook her head.

"It's not that, Bluebird," she spoke quietly, almost at a whisper, and Nightwing tilted his head quizzically.

"Then what is it?" he asked softly, stepping a bit closer, and Reese heaved a sigh before speaking again.

"Blanco  _knew_ something about my parents, Dick," she whispered, placing her hands over his. "He knew something, a secret, that they hadn't told me when they were alive, and I _need_ to find out what it is," Nightwing was nodding before she had even finished her sentence.

"Of course," he said. "And we will, Argent, I  _promise_ you we will, but right now, we have to get to Blanco's and Gobachov's offices, to see what they know. Okay?" Reese mulled over Dick's words for a few seconds before she finally nodded. Nightwing had a point. A good point, but Silverbird couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong with this whole thing.

How exactly did Blanco know her parents? Reese knew for a fact that her parents had never worked at S.T.A.R Labs before, so how did the three, maybe four, counting Gobachov, know each other? 

After about twenty minutes of meandering through the hallways, as Batman patrolled the perimeter of the laboratory, Reese finally caught sight of a name plaque in front of an office door, and she grabbed Dick's bicep, stopping him in his tracks. When Nightwing turned around, Sivlerbird jerked her head in the direction of the door.

"Dr. Natalia Gobachov," Dick said simply, reading the plaque before he turned his head towards Reese. "You sure you want to do this?" he asked, and Silverbird mulled it over in her head for a second before giving a small nod.

If Reese wanted to find out what exactly Blanco had known about her parents, and why Gobachov had shot her because Silverbird had a nagging feeling it had almost nothing to do with the fact that Lauren had stolen the Aureum Carceris from S.T.A.R Labs, then she and Nightwing needed to investigate the good doctor's office and investigate before Gobachov came back and did something a whole lot worse than shooting Reese in the stomach.

Reaching forward, Reese noticed that the office door was already cracked open, and she paused. This was starting to seem a bit odd, to say the least. First, the door that Silverbird and Nightwing had used to get  _into_ S.T.A.R Labs had been unlocked as well, it was almost as if someone had  _wanted_ them to find this.

"Be ready for anything," Silverbird hissed over her shoulder, and Nightwing gave a small nod, before Reese gently pushed the door open, the bronze hinges creaking as it moved. Inside, the office, it was decorated pretty modernly, compared to some of the others that Reese had seen through the doors' windows.

A rectangular desk sat in the center of the room, made entirely of glass, with a sleek desktop computer and various files scattered around. On the wall behind the desk were different awards and diplomas, for various things such as "Meta-human Therapeutic Services", "The Science of Alien Technology", and "Psychology".

There was a manila file folder in the center of Gobachov's desk, and as Dick pawed through the bookcase on the west side of the office, Reese rounded the edge of the desk, only to freeze when she noticed a picture frame sitting on the corner, in a place of honor.

It was obviously several years old because it showed Gobachov and another woman dressed in the cap and gowns of senior graduation. The school colors in the background of the photograph showed that the two were outside Keystone High, where Reese herself had gone before the whole Wilmer/Scarecrow debacle and she and Lauren moved to Gotham.

The strange thing though, the thing that made Silverbird freeze in her tracks, and her throat close up, was the recognition of who exactly, the other woman in the photo was. With a smooth jawline, high cheekbones, heart-shaped face, and dark hair that ended below the picture's edge, the other woman, presumably Natalia's best friend, from the way the two were smiling, looked almost identical to Reese, as if they could be related.

Because they were. The woman in the picture...was Reese's mother.

Flipping open the file folder, Reese's fingers paused when she saw that the contents were what looked to be profiles, meticulously gathered on her entire family, like what hospitals did with their patients. On top of those though, was a flash drive, and without a second thought, Silverbird swiped it and plugged it into the USB port on the desktop's hard drive.

The pop-up was a link for a video log, and Reese quickly hit enter, turning up the volume, but careful not to make it too loud, should she alert any of the other guards patrolling the area. As the first log played, Silverbird felt Nightwing come up behind her.

" _This is Day 1 of Project: Pasăre de Argint,_" A man said as his young face entered the camera's view, and Reese let out a strangled whimper when she recognized the man as Jon Michaels, her now-deceased father, only he was college-age in this video, maybe a few years before Reese was born. " _And even though we have not begun the project yet, we have high hopes. Time will only tell if_ -"

" _Why so serious, Jon_?" Another familiar voice came through the computer's speakers, and Rochelle Michaels, Reese's mother, entered the frame next, her dark hair piled up in a messy bun like it always was, even with Reese and Lauren. " _We've only just started, and you should be excited. It was your idea, after all,_" Jon shook his head fondly at his wife, before reaching up and pausing the camera feed.

The next several logs were exactly like that, with her parents saying what day it was of "Project: Pasăre de Argint", whatever that meant. Reese was omnilingual, sure, but for some reason, that particular phrase was just out of reach. She knew it was Romanian for sure, and pasăre meant 'bird' in that language, and argint sounded like...wait. If pasăre meant 'bird', and argint sounded like how 'silver' was pronounced in Latin, then that could only mean...the video log from Day 1460 gave Reese and Dick their answer.

This time, instead of the parents of the Michaels sisters beginning the video log, it was somebody else...somebody who was also known as Natalia Gobachov.

" _This is Day 1460 of Project: Pasăre de Argint,_" Natalia said tiredly, and in the background of the video Reese saw her parents, and who she could only assume to be a younger Marcus Blanco, rummaging around behind her. " _And before we start the experiments, it seems we may have just lost the test subject..._ " Natalia trailed off as Rochelle's face entered the frame, her hair now down and framing her face.

" _Well, Rhysalin has always been an adventurous child, and now...with her new hidden abilities that are coded into her DNA and genes-_ " Reese suddenly tugged the flash drive out of the USB port, stopping the video log and shutting down the computer. She was trying to catch her breath as dots began to connect in her brain.

She tried to calm down, to catch her breath, because she didn't need to have an anxiety attack  _now_ , not with everything else that was going on, but it was too late. Her breath was coming too fast, bordering on hyperventilating, and her fingers had begun to tremble. Reese's legs suddenly gave out, and she would've fallen to the floor had Dick not lunged forward at the last second and wrapped his arms around her, setting her gently on the floor so Reese's back was pressed against the wall.

Everything was swimming in front of Silverbird's eyes, but Reese could feel the sensation of Nightwing's gloved hands pressed against her cheeks, holding her face so it was straight in front of his.

"Argent...come on, focus on my voice," Dick's voice sounded far away, but with a whole lot of effort, Reese was able to clear her mind enough that her eyes were able to begin to see again, enough to see Nightwing kneeling in front of her, mask off, azure eyes swimming with worry.

"Bluebird..." Reese whimpered, and Dick cracked a small, sad half-smile before Reese lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Nightwing's neck, almost knocking him to the ground as she hugged him as hard as she possibly could, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Even with her head buried in his shoulder, Reese felt Dick turn himself around so he was the one with his back to the wall, and Reese was in his lap. She also felt Nightwing's hand move her fabric hood so it fell down her shoulders, and his lips press themselves against the crown of her head.

"You're okay," Reese could hear Dick whispering. "It's going to be okay Rhysalin," All Reese could do was shake her head, moving it so she was able to look Dick in the eye.

"How is it going to be okay, Richard?" she asked, barely more than a strangled whisper, because her voice wouldn't go any louder than that. "My parents  _experimented_ on me. The Silver X probably kick-started my genes, activating the powers  _they_ had put in when I was a toddler. That was why they always brought me to their work," Reese realized with a jolt, her fingers tightening around Nightwing's shoulders. "It wasn't so they could spend  _time_ with me, it was so they could drug me with chemicals. They made me into a  _monster_..."

"Hey!" Dick's voice wasn't loud, but it was forceful, and it made Reese turn towards him, to see Nightwing's blue eyes narrowed, and his jaw clenched tightly. "You are  _not_ a monster, Argent. Yes, they gave you these powers, but the only way that it would've made you a monster is if you had become a villain. You didn't, did you?" Reese bit her lip and shook her head, silently admitting that Nightwing made a valid point.

"But-" she started, but Dick cut her off again, this time with a kiss. Once they had separated, Reese's eyes fluttered open, and she found herself gazing at Dick with the smallest of smiles curling her lip.

"You are  _not_ a monster," he repeated quietly, pressing his lips quickly to her cheeks to kiss away the tears. "Not to me, not to the League, to the Team. Nobody, the only thing that could be monstrous about you is your temper, but that only comes out when somebody pisses you off so..." he trailed off, and despite everything, Reese found herself laughing the tiniest bit. Before she was able to say anything though, there was a crackle in both of their ears, before Batman's voice filtered through.

" _Batman to Nightwing and Silverbird_ ," Bruce said firmly. " _The other end of the labs are clear. You guys find anything_?" Reese and Dick exchanged a glance before Silverbird sighed and reached up, tapping the commlink in her ear.

"Yeah," Reese said softly as she and Nightwing stood up from the floor. "And you'll never guess what it is..."


	18. Chapter 17...Facie Ruber

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silverbird goes by herself to find Gobachov, only to discover the Russian scientist to be working with someone she long thought dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for some feels...man I cried and gave myself chills while writing this.

**Batcave; April 22nd, 03:20 EST**

Reese

"... _bastard! Blanco, how were you able to lose the test subject? She's  three! If we lose this research, it's your head that's on a silver platter!_" Reese watched with her throat tight as Bruce reached forward and paused the video log that was open on the Batcomputer, her mother's outraged face frozen on the screen. Batman paused for a moment before turning towards Silverbird and Nightwing.

" _This_ is what was on the flash drive?" he asked, and Dick gave a solid nod up from where he was leaning by the glass pods that held their costumes. They themselves had changed into civvies, and all Reese wanted to do right now was curl up in her Gotham Knights sweatshirt and sleep until Lauren graduated high school. As it were, that wasn't an option.

"Yeah," Nightwing spoke up, jerking his head towards the Batcomputer. "This, and about twenty-five-hundred other daily video logs detailing the timeline from three years before Reese was born, to four years after,"

"Seven years," Reese whispered to herself. Or at least, she  _thought_ it was a whisper, but judging from the empathetic look leveled her way by Nightwing, it was louder than she'd intended. When she met Dick's eyes, Reese decided to just stop beating around the bush and speak what was on her mind. "Seven _years_ ," she repeated, curling her hands into fists so they were hidden by her sweatshirt sleeves. "My  _parents_... _experimented_ on me...for  _seven years_. You can't tell me that's normal!" Bruce was already shaking his head.

"And we won't, Reese," he said softly. "Yes, what your parents, Gobachov, and Blanco did was cruel, and no toddler should have to go through with that. But, the fact is, without the research your parents did, you wouldn't have become Silverbird, you most likely wouldn't have become Silver X, and you would've never joined the Team," Reese thought that Waller probably would've still infected her with the Silver X in Metropolis anyway, regardless of whether she had her parents' research chemicals inside her body or not, but she didn't say that.

As it were, Bruce downloaded all of the video logs onto the Batcomputer's server, before pulling out the flash drive from the port he had plugged it into and destroying it with a well-placed hit with a hammer that was laying on the table next to him.

Reese stared at the crushed pieces of the flash drive for a couple of seconds, before she abruptly blinked, and turned to see Dick gazing at her, one eyebrow raised in question. She just shrugged and turned away, crossing her arms.

She didn't like blowing Nightwing off like this, acting so cold to him when he had done nothing, but she had a lot on her mind right now, with the whole parent experimentation thing. All she wanted to do right now was go upstairs and sleep until Lauren graduated from High School.

No, scratch that. What Silverbird  _really_ wanted to do was hunt down the bitch who was Natalia Gobachov, and hit her where it hurts. Multiple times. Until she was unconscious. Reese was abruptly jerked from her thoughts when Alfred walked down the stairs that led up to Wayne Manor, suit pristine as always.

"Master Bruce, Master Dick, and Miss Rhysalin, I am fully aware of how hard the three of you are working on this morbid new development, but may I suggest getting some rest? We may pick up the investigation in the morning...or late afternoon, considering the current time,"

"No," Reese said adamantly, almost before Alfred had finished his sentence. "What we  _need_ to do is find out where Gobachov is hiding, and make sure she can't hurt anyone else ever again," 

"Reese, that's not really your call," Batman said, and Silverbird jerked her head in Bruce's general direction, only to see the Dark Knight had his cowl down around his shoulders, and his stormy blue eyes were narrowed, hinting at the beginnings of an argument. "You can't just go after someone without a solid idea on where they could be," Reese just scoffed.

"And you haven't done exactly that before?" she asked, a bit snappish. "If I can go back to S.T.A.R Labs, I can go through Gobachov's office, and find an address, last known location,  _anything_ ,"

" _No_ ," Bruce told her as Dick flipped off the upper walkway, landing next to Batman with barely a sound. "Alfred's right, we all need sleep. You're not thinking straight right now. If you go out now and try to find Natalia Gobachov, you'll end up getting yourself _killed_ and I'm sure you don't want that, right?" when Reese didn't answer, Bruce repeated himself. " _Right_?" Instead of giving him any satisfaction, Reese crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, avoiding the gazes of both Batman and Nightwing.

" _Fine_ ," she growled after a few minutes of tense, angry silence. "I won't go after her now, but what I  _will_ do is stay down here in the Batcave and see if I can find any more leads on Gobachov's last known whereabouts,"

"Miss Rhysalin, I don't think that is the wisest course of acti-" Bruce quickly cut off Alfred's words.

"That's fine," he said simply, before glancing over his shoulder. "Dick will stay with you. That way the two of you can get twice as much work done in the same amount of time," Reese gritted her teeth. She loved Dick, truly she did, but there was  _no way_ that Nightwing would let her go after Gobachov on her own, which was what Reese had been planning on doing once she was down her alone. But now, with Nightwing looking over her shoulder, that was impossible.  _Great_.

"Great," Reese said, lying through her teeth as she gave the absolute fakest smile she could. Reese knew that the difference between real and fake smile was all in the muscles around your eyes, but she hoped that Bruce wouldn't fall for it, which was seemingly unlikely, considering who he was. Bruce just gave her a nod before he and Alfred headed upstairs.

As soon as they were gone, Reese walked over to the Batcomputer and plugged her own flash drive into an empty port. She felt Dick's presence behind her before he spoke, and when he did Reese clenched her eyes shut, not wanting to go through with this.

"What are you doing?" he asked quietly as article after article popped up on the screen, rifling through any mention of Natalia Gobachov in the past week.

"Trying to find Gobachov," Reese said simply, her fingers flying over the keyboard. "So I can stop her,"

"Argent, are you  _crazy_?" Dick burst out. "You heard what Bruce said, you can't go after her, you're gonna get yourself killed!"

"I know," she said simply, stopping Dick's tirade in its tracks. When Reese heard her boyfriend stop talking she paused, and slowly turned the swivel chair around to face Nightwing, who was currently standing stock-still in front of her, eyes wide.

"You're doing this on  _purpose_?" he asked her, voice sounding a bit strangled, and Reese sighed, biting her lip and nodding.

"I have to, Bluebird," she said quietly. "If I don't find out where Gobachov is hiding, then I'll never be able to find out the extent of my parents' experiments. I have to do this.  _Alone_ ," she added when Dick began to nod his head.

There was absolutely no way Reese was putting Dick Grayson in more danger than she was going to be in herself in half an hour. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if something were to happen to Nightwing. Which was why she was about to do what she was about to do. The Batcomputer beeped, a street map popping up, with a silvery-gray blip at one end of the screen, close to the Gotham Docks.

"Gotcha," Reese said quietly, zooming in on the blip and opening up the camera feeds that were filming the docks 24/7. On the screen was Gobachov's slender form, walking along the rotten wooden boards next to what looked like an abandoned warehouse. She seemed to be carrying a silver briefcase and seemed more suspicious than Reese had ever seen her.

"We going after her?" Dick's voice drew Reese from her thoughts, and Silverbird spun the chair around to face Nightwing, who was staring at her, one eyebrow raised. Reese sighed before she stood up, facing Dick head-on.

"You want to come with me?" she asked quietly, and Nightwing nodded.

"Of course I do," he answered. "One, you're my girlfriend and I don't want anything to happen to you, and two, Silverbird is Nightwing's partner. We're a team, Reese, whether you like it or not," Reese giggled a bit and shook her head.

"I never said I didn't like it, Bluebird," she said quietly. "You  _are_ my partner, and you'll protect me, no matter what. Which is why..." Reese suddenly grabbed a heavy paperweight that had been weighing down some files on the desk next to her and hit Nightwing over the side of the head, making a now-unconscious Dick Grayson drop like a stone.

"...I have to do this alone," she continued, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes before she walked up to the stairs over to the costume pods. Seeing as how Nightwing was currently knocked-out, Reese just changed into her Silverbird costume right there, bringing her civilian clothes back down, folded neatly, before setting them down on a chair.

Reaching up, Silverbird pulled off her domino mask and set it gently on top of the desk, deactivating the tracker Bruce had put in the interface display. Swiping a notepad from close by, Reese quickly wrote down a few words, signed the note, before glancing back down at Nightwing's limp form. Dick looked so peaceful from where he was laying as if he was sleeping.

Reese knew that he would have a nasty headache, and most likely a concussion when he woke up, but right now she had bigger things to worry about. Bending down, Silverbird pressed her lips to Nightwing's for a split second, trying not to think of how right now he wasn't able to kiss her back, before pressing the note in Dick's hand and curling his fingers around it. Standing up again, Reese flipped up her hood so her unmasked face was concealed in shadows, before quickly pulling her hair into a side braid that hung down her torso before ending just above her stomach.

Before she walked out of the cave, and after setting her commlink down on the desk, Reese caught sight of her reflection in a mirror that hung nearby on the wall. Reaching up, Silverbird ran her fingers over the silver streak that had somehow appeared in her hair a couple of weeks ago. Until now, she hadn't really noticed. She figured it was some sort of side effect of whatever chemicals her parents had drugged her up with when she was a baby. She liked it though, despite everything. It contrasted against her otherwise dark locks nicely.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Reese turned around and walked over to where the Batfamily's various vehicles were parked. She made her way over to her silver-gray motorcycle, before pausing.

If she used her own vehicle to leave, Batman would know what was up, and would most likely try and stop her, along with Robin, and Nightwing once Dick woke up. An idea suddenly shot into Reese's head, but she dismissed it as quickly as it arrived. That was too insane, even for her standards right now, but if it would get her out of here, then that was what she had to do, even if it meant blatantly disobeying Batman's orders and basically trying to get herself killed. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Walking across the garage, Reese took a deep breath before she stopped next to the Batmobile's driver side door. She pulled on the handle, and the door opened almost silently, revealing the interior, with the keys still locked in the ignition.

"Oh, Bruce," Reese tsked to herself, not even aware that Batman was listening in on her conversation with herself from upstairs in Wayne Manor. "The one thing you should never do...leave your keys in the ignition," Without another thought, Silverbird reached forward, started the Batmobile, and let the platform it was on a spin around a bit before pressing the gas pedal to the floor and roaring out of the Batcave into the dark Gotham night.

**Gotham Docks; April 22nd, 03:55 EST**

Silverbird parked the Batmobile on the far side of the docks, farthest away from the warehouse where Gobachov had holed herself up. That way, it would seem more discrete, though Reese wasn't sure how long it would be before Bruce realized what she had done, and Dick woke up from his little nap.

Needless to say, when that happened, her being put on probation would most likely be the  _least_ of her problems.

Climbing out of Batman's car, Reese held the top of the car door for a minute before she pressed a button and the doors fell shut silently, no noise except for the normal Gotham city-music penetrating the early morning.

Stringing her bow, Silverbird shot another grappling arrow up to a nearby roof, and let the retractor pull her up the side of the wall, where she flipped over the edge, landing softly on her feet in the stance one would when doing acts like this. Left leg bent at the knee beneath her, while her right leg was straight out to the side. Standing, Reese flipped her hood up so her face was covered by the darkness again, before making her way silently across the roof.

Across the way, she could see that the lights were on in one of the warehouses. They were bright, almost strobe-like, and Reese wouldn't be surprised if the GCPD showed up in the next couple of minutes to investigate. She should be done by then.

Taking a running start, Silverbird leaped off the edge of the warehouse she was on, landing almost silently on the one right next to it. She continued doing this across the docks, getting closer to the one Gobachov had entered almost an hour ago.

Finally, Reese's feet slammed into the tar roofing tiles that covered the warehouse's roof, making the platform quake for a split-second, causing Reese to freeze in her tracks before it settled, and despite herself, Silverbird let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay," she whispered to herself, silently making her way towards the door that lead into the warehouse. "The roof is unsteady.  _That's_ a comforting thought," Suddenly, her ears caught the sound of footsteps. Coming up to the roof. Reese suddenly flashbacked to Rome, when she and Dick had almost been captured by one of Antonio Ricci's men. Damn, had it only been five months ago? It seemed so much longer...

Just as the roof's doorknob started to turn, Reese whipped around the door's corner, pressing her back against the brick wall and trying to steady her breathing as two men dressed in lab coats walked out onto the roof.

"Don't you think the Boss Lady is taking this whole paranoia thing a bit far?" One said as he lit a cigarette, before holding it out to the other. He was Asian-looking, maybe mid-forties, with black hair and a short frame. The other man, the one who had originally lit the cigarette, was younger, twenty-five at the most, with red hair and a bulkier frame, as if he worked out... _constantly_. The Asian man just shrugged nonchalantly.

"The S.T.A.R Labs alarm went off about two hours ago so that obviously means that the Bat and two of his birds found something. My guess is they found the video logs, and, if Silverbird's past tantrums are anything to go by, I'd be paranoid too," Reese narrowed her eyes.

"Tantrums?" she whispered to herself. Sure, she  _knew_ that she had a wicked temper, but seriously?  _Tantrums_?

"Who exactly  _is_ the test subject in the Boss Lady's secret project from almost twenty years ago?" the redhead asked, and Reese watched with bated breath as the older man slipped a rolled-up newspaper from the pocket of his lab coat and handed it to his partner. In the light of one of the flickering lamps that were somehow placed on the roof, Reese read the headline of the page the redhead had opened to and swore under her breath when she realized what it was.

"The subject's name is Rhysalin Blaire Devon Michaels...the third. She's the daughter of the two founders of the project. I was one of the junior researchers when the 'Boss Lady', as you so fondly call her, first started this whole endeavor. She's also-" the redhead cut him off.

"Richard Grayson's  _girlfriend_ ," he hissed, tilting the paper so the headline was in full view. It showed Dick and Reese somewhere in Gotham City, holding hands and looking like the stereotypical teenage couple. Reese clenched her eyes shut as she realized that most likely wouldn't be the case once this whole thing was over and done with. "So what do we do?" the redhead was saying, causing Silverbird to tune back into their conversation.

"I know what you're thinking, Markcus," the Asian man said, and 'Markcus' looked at him quizzically, causing the Asian man to roll his eyes. "If we try to hunt down the test subject, it will end badly for everybody. Bruce Wayne and his ward most likely don't know who Rhysalin really is, so it would just constitute a normal kidnapping, which, due to how prominent Wayne Enterprises and Bruce Wayne are in Gotham, would probably lead to _our_ downfall,"

Sneaking around the corner of the door, Silverbird wrapped her black-gloved hand around the doorknob and silently opened the door, slipping inside before Markcus or the other man had even known she was there.

Inside the warehouse, it looked like Gobachov had obviously been working on the reinstitution of Project: Pasăre de Argint for a while, most likely ever since Silverbird had first come on the scene almost a month ago, because the spacious empty floor of the warehouse was almost filled to the brim with tech from S.T.A.R Labs. Computers, desks, hard drives, massive glass pods...you name it, they had it.

Creeping along the top rafters, Reese stealthily made her way towards the far end of the warehouse, where the supervisor's office was and most likely Gobachov's new one. She could hear voices coming from inside, and one was obviously Gobachov's, though the other...Reese had an inkling, but who she was thinking of was impossible. He'd been dead for almost five months. She had  _watched_ him die in Mount Justice.

Their voices were muffled through the door, but Reese was able to catch what they were saying.

" _Has Silverbird been sighted since the alarms went off at S.T.A.R Labs_?" Gobachov was asking.

" _No_ ," her companion answered, his voice sounding almost as smooth as silk, and it made Reese's skin crawl thinking about it. " _Though I wouldn't be surprised if Gotham's Archer showed up on her own. I've been watching Reese for years. She's too nosy for her own good_ ," a figure suddenly walked in front of the window of Gobachov's new office, and into Silverbird's line-of-sight. When she recognized the man, Reese's stomach dropped to her feet.

The man, the figure, was _Luke_. The Leech. He was  _alive_. How this happened Reese had no idea, but it had happened, and now Luke was working something with Gobachov. Something to do with her. And that wasn't good.

" _Mr. Racer, I understand you have a...history with Silverbird, but please, restrain yourself,_ " At this point, Reese was in the rafters right above the office, which was basically a glass box on five sides, though the floor was made of concrete. It also meant that she was able to look down into Gobachov's office, allowing her to confirm to herself that the Leech was indeed alive, and not just some ghostly time remnant of her memory.

But, it seemed she was right. Luke Racer was indeed alive and dressed in a three-piece suit in Gobachov's office, leaning against her desk. Reese's throat was drier than Bialya right now, and her hands had begun trembling. This was impossible. How was Luke alive right now? His throat had been slit in Mount Justice, he would've bled out in seconds. But, it seemed like that whole situation had been rendered null and void when Luke turned his body, and Reese caught sight of an angry red scar wrapping its way around the center of his neck.

Hanging down from the rafters, Reese loosened her grip enough that it left her dangling, before dropping through the ceiling of Gobachov's office, the glass smashing around her. Silverbird landed heavily on the mahogany wooden desk, and both Luke and Gobachov stared at her in shock, before the Leech's upper lip curled up in a smirk.

"Well,  _hello_ , Little Reese," he cooed, eyes raking up and down her form. "Long time no see, Silverbird, and far be it for me to commend you on that drama-filled entrance," Instead of showing Luke just how scared he made her, Reese lifted up her bow and pointed it at Gobachov's head.

"I need answers, Gobachov," she said firmly, tightening the bowstring between her fingers. "And you're going to give them to me, or there will be an arrow sprouting between your eyes. Now, start talking," Instead of answering verbally, Gobachov snapped her fingers, and a half-dozen muscled goons were suddenly in the office with them, making the room more than a little cramped. Without a second thought, Reese leaped forward and slammed her heeled foot into one goon's head, knocking him to the ground.

Another lunged towards her, but at the last possible moment, Silverbird grabbed his wrist and tugged him downward, slamming his face down onto her knee, most likely breaking his nose an causing it to spurt blood. These henchmen were strong, Reese would give 'em that, but they weren't very smart. But when was hired muscle ever?

Once they were all unconscious or groaning on the floor, Reese tilted her head up, breathing hard, only to find herself face-to-face with Luke. She tried to back away as fast as she could, to dodge his hand, to do  _anything_ , but it was as if she couldn't move.

She was frozen as the Leech's ungloved hand wrapped itself around her throat, squeezing tightly, subsequently choking and draining her life-force at the same time. As everything was going black in Reese's vision, she could faintly hear Gobachov saying something.

"... _amazing_ ," it sounded like. "The Silver Bird mixture...it seems to be almost... _changing_ the melanin amount in her irises..." Reese had no idea what that meant, only that it had something to do with her eye color, but she was too tired to think of that now.

All she wanted to do was sleep...

**Batcave; April 22nd, 03:50 EST**

Dick

"... _Nightwing...Nightwing..._ Dick, wake up!" Nightwing's eyes flew open, and he sat up with a gasp, only for a burning pain to shoot through the side of his head, and everything to start spinning in front of him. Once the mental carousel had stopped, he tried to stand, bracing himself on the edge of the Batcomputer's desk.

In front of him stood Batman, his face grave. Dick's memory was a bit fuzzy, but what he was able to remember was him and Reese looking through the video logs on the Batcomputer, and then the news alert about Gobachov had popped up, and...wait, where was Reese?

"Where's Reese?" Dick managed to wheeze out as his head began spinning again, but when Batman didn't answer, Nightwing looked up to see Bruce staring at him. He began to get a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Bruce, where is she?" Batman just sighed, before he held up something in his hands. Reese's domino mask.

"She went after Gobachov," he said firmly, while also sounding concerned. "About twenty minutes ago. She also stole the Batmobile," if this was any other situation, Dick would've been laughing his ass off at the fact that Reese had the audacity to steal Batman's car. But, as it were, he wasn't laughing.

"We have to go after her!" he burst out. "We don't know what Gobachov is planning! She's going to get herself killed!"

"We can't risk anyone else getting hurt," Bruce's voice was blunt, and his words made Dick freeze. Batman wasn't serious, was he? No one  _else_? Did that mean they  _weren't_ about to go and rescue Reese from the warehouse that Gobachov had holed herself up in?

"So does that mean Reese doesn't _count_ as someone?" Nightwing asked, his temper beginning to fray. Reese had already been gone or almost a full hour, and she was going through God knows what right now, and Bruce wanted to do  _nothing_! "If you won't help me save her," he said slowly, bringing his eyes up to meet Bruce's. "Then I'll go myself," Straightening up, Dick, albeit slowly, made his way over to the Batfamily's costume pods, and his heartstrings tugged when he saw that Silverbird's was empty.

Clenching his fist, Dick felt something papery move between his fingers and turned his hand palm-up, opening his fist to see a folded-up piece of notebook paper. Nightwing turned the piece of paper over in his hand before opening it. It was a note. From Reese.

_Dick,_

_I'm sorry._ _I had to go after her alone, and I didn't want to risk you getting hurt._

_Your head may be in a bit of pain for a while, but it was the only way I could think of to get you unconscious quick enough._

_If I'm not back before you wake up, which should be in about twenty minutes as I'm writing this, something went wrong..._

_But I don't want you to go after me. I can take care of myself._

_I love you, Bluebird. So much._

_~Reese_

Dick's hand clenched together again, crumpling the note up before he had even realized what had happened. Now, far be it for him to assume anything about Reese's intentions, but Dick had an inkling in the back of his brain, an inkling that he _refused_ to act upon or give much thought, where Reese's note sounded a lot like a... _goodbye_.

He felt the glass door of the pod hiss as it slid open, and Dick reached forward, lightly fingering the cerulean bird decal across the chest of his costume. Without a second thought, Dick grabbed the Nightwing costume from its stand and walked back downstairs, making his way into the locker room and changing as quickly as he could.

As he was strapping on his utility belt, another jolt of pain lanced through Dick's temple, and he clamped a hand on the side of his head until it passed.

What exactly had Reese hit him with? Whatever it was, it must have been big...and heavy. Dick quickly shook his head, vowing to figure it out later, before he walked out of the locker room, and found Batman staring at him from over by the Batcomputer. Nightwing sighed. What did he want now?

"You're not going, Dick," Batman said gravely, but Dick only rolled his eyes, holding his own domino mask in his hands.

"Like hell, I'm not," he said adamantly. "Reese is in trouble, I know it, and I need to find her," Bruce looked like he wanted to argue some more, but instead all he did was reach up and rub a crease between his eyebrows.

"Fine," Bruce said finally. "But you're not going alone. I'm coming with you," Dick narrowed his eyes, but after a few seconds of trying to find a flaw in Batman's plan, of which there were none, he nodded his head.

"Wait," Nightwing held up a hand as the two of them made their way towards the garage. "Reese stole the Batmobile," he said bluntly. "What will you be driving?" Bruce just gave him a rare, minute smirk before holding up a set of keys and pressing a button.

A beep echoed through the Batcave, and a pair of headlights turned on at the far end, catching Dick's attention, and he turned in time to see  _another_ Batmobile automatically rev its engine. Nightwing's eyes widened before he turned back to Bruce.

"You have  _another_ Batmobile?" he breathed out in awe, and Bruce's smirk grew the tiniest bit before the doors to the Batmobile 2.0 opened without a sound. Batman walked towards it, stopping at the drivers' side door before turning back to Dick.

"You coming with me, or driving on your own?" he asked, and Nightwing mulled it over in his head for a couple of seconds. His head was still a bit knocked about from whatever Reese had hit him with, and if Dick drove his motorcycle while he was injured, well...that wouldn't end well.

"I'll come with you," he said finally, and Batman gave a small nod in response before he pressed another button, and the passenger side door opened up. Hopping inside, Dick sat back as the seatbelt automatically crossed over his chest, locking him in place.

Bruce sat down in the driver's seat and grasped the joystick in his gloved hand, before jerking it forward, and the Batmobile roared out of the cave. Once they had been driving for about five minutes, Bruce spoke.

"Call Kid Flash," he said bluntly, and Nightwing jerked his head up, surprised. Reading his no doubt confused look, Batman elaborated.

"We will most likely be up against almost fifty armed guards and other henchmen. You're also still injured, and we don't need your capability being questioned," Nightwing stared at him, shocked.

" _Capability_?" he echoed as they drove through the darkened streets of Gotham. "My girlfriend knocked me out with a  _paperweight_. Question, _why,_ exactly, do you have a Wonder Woman paperweight by the Batcomputer?" In his peripheral, Dick saw Batman's fingers tighten around the steering wheel, and his jaw set tensely.

"Focus, Nightwing," he said gravely, and that was how Dick knew he had backed Bruce into a metaphorical corner. And he was loving every second of it "Call. Kid. Flash." Nightwing rolled his eyes, but reached forward and tapped the screen on the Batmobile 2.0's dashboard, before tapping Wally's contact. It rang for a couple of seconds before KF's groggy voice came through the speakers.

" _Uh...hey Bats. What's up_... _at four in the morning_?" Dick and Bruce glanced at each other before Dick finally spoke.

"How fast can you get to Gotham?" he asked, and it was silent for a couple of seconds before Wally spoke again.

" _Pretty fast,_ " he answered quickly. " _Why?_ "

"Silverbird's in trouble," Dick said, subconsciously clenching his fists. "Batman and I are en route, but we may need a speedster's assistance. You in?"

" _Hell yeah I am,_ " Wally answered, and in the background there was some rustling of cloth, and Dick presumed that KF was getting dressed. " _What happened...exactly_?" Nightwing clenched his eyes shut behind his mask, and heaved a sigh before he spoke again.

"You remember Natalia Gobachov?" he asked, and it was silent for a few moments before Wally answered.

" _The crazy Russian lady who shot Reese last week?_ " he asked, and Nightwing confirmed his statement.

"Yep. Apparently, Reese's parents worked with Gobachov and this other scientist, Marcus Blanco, who's dead now, died in an explosion. Anyway, the four of them worked on this old experiment for about seven years when Reese was a toddler, and apparently, the chemicals they injected her with are the ones that caused her Canary Cry. The Silver X must have just kick-started the genes that had been lying dormant in her DNA for years,"

 _"Damn,_ " Wally mused when Dick was finished. " _That's heavy._   _I'll be there in two shakes,_ " Nightwing hung up, and leaned his head against the headrest, heaving another sigh. He couldn't explain it at all whatsoever, but Dick had a sinking feeling deep in the pit of his stomach. A feeling that something, when they got to the docks, was going to go horribly wrong...

By the time the Batmobile 2.0 slid to a stop a few warehouses away from where Gobachov was hiding, Wally was already leaning against the brick wall opposite them, his suit in stealth-mode, and chewing on a granola bar in order to get his energy back up.

"I took out the guards that were patrolling the perimeter," KF said once he had swallowed. Nightwing saw Batman give a small nod before the three of them made their way up the warehouse's fire escape towards the roof.

Once they were up there, Dick looked around for any clues, and he caught sight of a fluttering newspaper about to fly off the edge. Lurching forward, he grasped a page and tugged it back towards him. When he saw what was on the front page, his fingers tightened so much the paper began to tear.

"We're in the right place," he said firmly, his voice breaking the silence, and causing both Bruce and Wally to turn towards him, quizzical.

"How do you know?" Batman asked, and without answering verbally, Nightwing held up the newspaper page, showing the Dark Knight and Kid Flash the article about him and Reese that was on the front page. Reese's face was colored over with silver Sharpie.

There was a sudden crash from inside the warehouse, and all three heroes tensed, before Nightwing leaped forward, and practically tore the door off its hinges trying to get inside. He perched himself on the rafters and watched as a shadowed form dragged another figure, this one limp, into the center of the warehouse.

Dick clenched his fists, fingernails digging into his palm when he recognized the first figure. _Luke_.

"Is that..." Wally trailed off, but Nightwing caught the gist of what Kid Flash was trying to say, and he gave a stiff nod.

"Yep," was all he said in response before suddenly Dick felt his blood freeze in his veins as he saw the clothes that the second figure, the one who was lying limp, was wearing. A silver and black, ombre-effect jacket, and a quiver full of arrows across their back.

It was Reese. Dick froze. It was as if, no matter how hard he wanted to jump in and save her, he couldn't move a muscle. He watched, deathly still, as the Leech walked forward and dumped Reese's limp form in the center of the warehouse. For some reason, it almost seemed like Reese was a whole foot shorter than what she was normally. But, Nightwing was jerked from his thoughts as Luke tilted his head up and shouted into the rafters, exactly where Batman, Kid Flash, and Nightwing were hiding.

"I know you're up there Nightwing!" he called up, and Dick gritted his teeth together. "Have you come to see the show? And such a  _marvelous_ show it is, indeed," then, it was as if everything moved in slow motion...and Dick couldn't do anything to stop it.

First, Luke ripped off his glove, showcasing his pale hand, with tendrils of black veins filled with his morbid power showing prominently against his skin...

Then, he lunged forward, towards Reese's unconscious form, at the same time that Nightwing launched himself off of the wooden beam towards the floor, throwing an eskrima stick towards Luke's head...

But he missed. The metal baton flew past the Leech's ear, within an inch of connecting with the side of Luke's head, so close Dick saw the blond hair move. Luke tilted his head towards Nightwing, that god awful smirk curling his lip.

"Vale atque vale, _Grayson_ ," he said, still smirking.  _Goodbye and farewell_. Before Dick could do anything, Luke slammed his hand, his  _ungloved_ hand, down onto Reese's stomach, and her body began to disintegrate before Nightwing's very eyes.

" _No_!" the scream tore itself from the very back of Dick's throat, a sound he hadn't made since his parents had fallen during their trapeze act, more than eight years ago now. He began to hyperventilate, thoughts running through his head at light-speed as he tried to process what had just happened.

No. No, no, no, no, no, no. This couldn't be happening. Not after everything they had been through, with Scarecrow, Wilmer, the League of Assassins, Sporelli, Alexandra. This couldn't be happening.

He had  _known_ that something was going to go wrong when they came to the docks. Dick had felt it in his gut.

And he'd been right...something had gone wrong. Something so horrible that Richard John Grayson would likely never recover from it...

 

Reese...

 

Rhysalin...

 

The love of his  _life_...

 

Was  _dead_...

 

And it was all the Leech's fault...

 

That was all it took...

 

For Nightwing's vision...his line of _sight..._ to turn  _red_...

 


	19. Chapter 18...Mental Conflicts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightwing goes through emotional and dream-like hell, causing his moral code to threaten to snap in two and the arrival of an enemy at Wayne Manor doesn't help.

**Gotham Docks; April 22nd, 04:20 EST**

Dick

Dust...

Fine particles of solid matter that were too indistinguishable from each other to see what each one was previously...

Which is exactly what Reese was right now. Dust. All that was left was a bare-boned skeleton on the floor of an almost-abandoned warehouse on the Gotham Docks, murdered in cold blood by a man they had both thought dead after he had been "killed" in Mount Justice on Christmas Eve.

But, here they were now. Luke Racer, the Leech, was alive, and Reese Michaels, Silverbird, the love of Dick Grayson's  _life_ , was _dead_. As in not living. No longer breathing. Not  _alive_. And that,  _that_ was enough for something in Nightwing's brain to snap.

Dick erupted from his spot on the concrete floor of the warehouse with a cry of rage and grief, and slammed his full body weight into Luke's form, throwing the both of them into the brick wall of the warehouse. The Leech's head snapped to the side, so sudden and hard that his right cheek hit the wall.

"You. _Killed_. Her," Dick growled, slamming the long end of his eskrima stick into Luke's ribs, no doubt cracking them. But, Dick didn't care. Reese was dead, and that thought, that one single thought, kept running through Nightwing's head, over and over and over again.

Dick didn't want it to be true, but then again, who would? Who, in their right mind would want to see the love of their life ripped away in the span of three seconds? No one, that's who. And now, after that exact thing had happened to him, Nightwing, Batman's "golden boy" as Jiu-Lang Kong so affectionately called him, was faced with Reese's, _Silverbird's_ , murderer, and what was he going to do?

Kill him. Nightwing was going to make sure that the Leech wasn't able to hurt or kill, anyone ever again. And in order to do that...

Luke needed to die. It wouldn't matter really if Nightwing killed the Leech. If he broke Batman's single unbreakable rule... _again_. If Dick's moral compass was dead, what did that say for the rest of his choices?

"You...seem... _tense,_ Grayson," Luke managed to wheeze out, giving Nightwing a deranged, wide-toothed smile, stained red with blood. "Is anything...the matter?" Instead of answering, Dick ripped the Leech away from the wall and threw him into the middle of the warehouse's floor. Grabbing Luke's jacket collar, Nightwing yanked him up until their faces were nose-to-nose.

"You're asking me if I'm  _tense_?" he growled, before throwing Luke into a support beam. "You just  _murdered_ the girl I  _love_. And you're gonna die for it," the Leech spat a glob of dark blood to the side, before smiling again towards Nightwing.

"I did kill her," Luke spoke up, smirking evilly. "Didn't I? And let me just say...I'm  _proud_ of it," Dick whipped one of his batarangs out of his utility belt, and held the serrated edge just against Luke's neck, the blade pricking his skin and causing a bead of bright red blood to appear.

He wanted to kill Luke. There was probably not a single thing that Dick wanted more at this moment, except for Reese to be alive. The Leech deserved to die _because_ he had killed Reese. A life for a life. So, why was Nightwing hesitating? Why couldn't he do it? Dick pressed the blade of his batarang harder into Luke's skin. Only a bit more pressure and the Leech's throat would be slit. It would take a few minutes for him to bleed out, but if Nightwing were to say it would be a painless death, he'd be lying.

Suddenly, there was a red-gloved hand wrapped around Dick's wrist, and Wally was standing behind him, his face grave.

"Don't do it," Kid Flash said simply. "It won't bring Reese back, Dick. Don't kill him," Dick gritted his teeth. Who was Wally to tell him what to do? If Artemis was the one who was a skeleton on the floor instead of Reese, Luke would have already been dead, killed by a grieving teenage speedster. Who was he make Nightwing's decisions for him?

"Kind of hypocritical of you to say that, isn't it,  _KF_?" Nightwing spat out Wally's nickname as if it was poison in his mouth, but he also didn't move any closer to killing Luke. "What if it was Artemis, huh? Then what would you do? You can't tell me, that if Artemis was the one lying as a  _skeleton_ on the ground, that you wouldn't try to make the one who had killed her pay," Behind the eyeholes of his cowl, Wally's eyes softened, but his determination didn't waver.

"But she isn't," he said simply, and Dick tensed. "I have no idea what you're feeling right now, but I do know that if you do this...if you kill him, it will be burned into your brain. Sure, you may get a twisted sense of justice for Silverbird's death, but after that? That will wear down on you,  _forever_." Nightwing gritted his teeth, not wanting to admit that Kid Flash had a point, but it didn't matter.

"I already killed someone though," he said quietly, his gloved hand tightening around the batarang again, his eyes barely flicking over his shoulder. "Don't you remember? The assassin, who broke into Wayne Manor. I killed _him_ ," Wally sighed and shook his head.

"Nightwing, that was an  _accident_. You know it, I know it, _Reese_ knew it,"  _Knew it_. That was what Wally had said. 'Knew', as in past-tense. Because Reese was dead.

The batarang slipped from Dick's fingers as he turned towards Wally, and it fell to the floor with a metallic tinging noise as if he had dropped a small piece of glass. Luke lurched up from his spot, gasping for breath, and Dick stood still for a moment before he clenched his eyes shut behind his mask before he spun back around and slammed his fist into the side of the Leech's head, making Luke drop to the ground like a stone, unconscious.

That was when everything that had happened in the past ten minutes caught up with Nightwing, and his legs suddenly gave way beneath him, and he crumpled to the floor, his breathing bordering on hyperventilation. Dick braced his hands against the cement floor, clenching and unclenching his fists at random intervals, just so he didn't completely lose control. He heard Wally walk up behind him before a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Dick," KF's voice was quiet, but it was something that Nightwing was able to hear and latch onto, to have a sort of...anchor, through all the other noise in his brain. "I wish I could do... _something_ ," this time, Batman was the one who spoke.

"You can," his voice was the same it had always been, deep and fairly emotionless, but to Dick, it almost seemed like there was the smallest,  _faintest_ glimmer of...hope. He had no idea  _why_ , because what was there to be hopeful about?

"What do you mean?" Wally's voice was quiet, almost a whisper, and Dick had to strain his ears to catch it. When Bruce answered, Nightwing's heart skipped a beat or two, and his throat closed up.

"Find Reese," Batman said gravely, before turning back to the skeleton on the ground as Nightwing wearily pulled himself up to stand next to the Dark Knight. "That skeleton? It's not Reese's,"

" _What_?" Nightwing asked, his voice coming out as little more than a strangled whisper. "What do you  _mean_ the skeleton isn't Reese's?" 

"First of all, this skeleton is heightened at 4'10. Isn't Reese 5'7?" Dick's eyes widened as he realized that Bruce was right. He'd noticed when they had first gotten to the warehouse, that the figure that Luke had been dragging seemed a lot shorter than normal, but Nightwing had chalked that up for fear of Reese's life. The life, Dick suddenly realized that could still be happening. "Second, when Reese and Lauren escaped from Guiliano Sporelli and his sister in San Francisco, and Reese's right shoulder was shot, the bullet grazed her scapula. On this skeleton, there is no indication of that ever happening. On  _either_ shoulder,"

"That means Reese could still be alive," Dick whispered, and Bruce gave a solid nod, causing Wally to let out a massive sigh of relief.

"Thank  _God_ ," Wally said quietly before his head snapped up, and he tilted his head. "Then, where is she?" Bruce just gave a small shrug, but Dick, now having renewed his zeal for having Reese alive, got a sudden idea. Turning around without a word to either Batman or Kid Flash, Nightwing walked over to where Luke was still laying on the ground, unconscious.

"Nightwing, what are you doing?" Batman asked, but Dick only shrugged, yanking the Leech's collar up and readying a hand, shaking his fingers out.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill him,"  _Yet_ , he added in his head, before Nightwing made his hand fly across Luke's face, causing the man who had given both Reese  _and_ Dick so much pain to wake up with a shout. His eyes flickered around for a few seconds, focusing before they finally settled on Dick.

Dick knew that his mask lenses shielded his eyes from Luke's view, but even with that, it seemed like the Leech's dark eyes, eyes that were so dark they almost seemed  _black_ , were staring directly into Nightwing's soul, and tearing it apart, piece by piece.

"Where is  _she_ ," Dick growled, not even bothering to beat around the bush. He needed to find Reese, and he needed to find her  _now_. As it were, Luke only gave Nightwing that damned-to-hell smirk.

"I knew that extra Silverbird suit would come in handy," Luke said woozily, his teeth still stained red. "It's not like you'll ever find her. You should probably just give up now. She'll be gone in about five minutes," Suddenly, Nightwing caught the sound of whirring that seemed to come from the roof. Whirring, that almost sounded like...helicopter blades. "Well," the Leech added. "Make that five seconds,"

Dick's eyes widened, and he spun his head towards Wally.

"KF, I need to get to the roof!" he shouted, and before he could blink, Nightwing was standing in front of the door that led out to the roof. Damn, Wally had gotten fast. The whirring of the helicopter blades got louder, and Dick suddenly remembered what he was supposed to be doing, and he rammed his shoulder into the already damaged door, knocking it clean off its hinges, and revealing a black helicopter was getting ready to take off from the helipad on the warehouse across the alley.

Inside, Dick caught sight of a figure sitting stiffly, restrained by two men who looked like they could battle it out with Bane in full-on Venom mode...and  _win_.

"Reese!" he shouted, and the girl whipped her head around, only for one of the thugs to yank her back inside before she was able to cry out. But, her head was out the side of the helicopter long enough for her face to be burned into Nightwing's memory forever. As it had been, for the past two years.

It was Reese. She was  _alive_. After realizing _that_ , Dick also realized that, if he allowed the helicopter carrying Reese to leave, he would most likely never see her again, _and_ Silverbird would most likely be subjugated to even  _more_ experimentation, though these would most likely be a whole lot more painful.

Backing up a bit, Nightwing bent his legs, before taking off in a dead sprint, launching himself off the edge of the warehouse as the helicopter cleared the edge. He grabbed one of the skids, and the entire vehicle tilted to the side under his weight. Dick pulled himself up over the edge of the skid, albeit difficultly, before hanging off it like a koala.

"Boss, it's Nightwing, what do we do?" he heard one of the thugs cry out, and Dick tightened his grip on the skid, trying not to fall the three-hundred feet it was towards the ground. A voice answered, and Dick ground his teeth together when he recognized it as Natalia Gobachov's.

"Get rid of him," the Russian scientist said simply, and over the wind produced by the rotors of the helicopter, Nightwing heard the telltale clicking sound of a seatbelt being undone. 

"No!" he heard Reese shout. "You can't kill him!" there was also the sudden sound of flesh hitting flesh, and Reese fell silent. Nightwing gritted his teeth as a shadow stood in the open doorway of the helicopter, aiming a wicked looking gun his way. Taking a deep breath, Dick clenched his eyes shut for a split second, before tightening his hands' grips on the helicopter skids and letting his legs dangle down for a minute, before swinging himself up so his feet locked around the wrists of the guy who was holding the gun. 

Nightwing locked his ankles together, before pulling and yanking the man out of the helicopter, watching as the man fell into one of the warehouses below, screaming the entire way. Flipping himself around, Dick landed solidly on his feet in the inside of the helicopter, being faced with another Bane look-alike, a petrified Natalia Gobachov, and a tied-up Reese, with a red mark in the shape of her hand on her left cheek.

"Well,  _hello_ ," Dick quipped, spinning his eskrima sticks around his fingers. "Who wants to dance?" The thug moved first, charging at Nightwing with a battle cry, but Dick just side-stepped him, swinging his arm around and slamming the long end of his eskrima stick into the thug's back, making him lose his balance, before Nightwing swung a foot out and slammed it into his spine, and the thug fell out of the helicopter.

Luckily, they were just flying over another warehouse, so the thug just slammed into a pile of wooden crates on the roof, though Dick winced all the same, because the thug sure as hell would be feeling those bruises in the morning. Then, Nightwing had Gobachov pressed against the wall of the outside of the helicopter, eskrima stick locked against her throat.

"You move," Dick growled, adding a bit more pressure to Natalia's windpipe. "We all die. Got it?" Gobachov gave a brief nod, and Dick stepped back, but before he was able to head to Reese's side to make sure she was okay, there was the sound of a gunshot and the helicopter suddenly lurched, causing everyone to lose their balance. Nightwing pulled himself up to his feet and headed into the cockpit, only to see the pilot slumped against the controls, a bullet hole in his head.

_Great_ , Dick thought.  _Now we're all really going to die_. The helicopter then began to dive, and Nightwing jumped forward, pushing the pilot's body out of the way, as he latched his hands onto the joystick and yanked it, making the vehicle lurch to the right. Dick made one of his hands fly up to his ear, and he tapped his commlink, alerting Batman and Kid Flash.

" _Hey, Nightwing!_ " Wally's voice came through first. " _Did you find Reese?_ " Not really paying attention, more focused on trying not to  _die_ , Dick jerked the joystick again, and the helicopter whipped around, with the tail rotor clipping the edge of a building as they got closer and closer to the Harbor.

"What?" Dick asked, tuning himself back into his friend's question before he realized what Wally had asked. "Oh, yeah, I got her.  _But_ , we're kind of in a bit of a definite  _distraught_  situation right now!" Batman spoke next, and to Nightwing, it sounded almost...humorous.

" _That wouldn't have anything to do with the flaming helicopter that's falling through the air right now, does it_?" Dick didn't answer, but he didn't need to. " _I thought so. We'll be right there,_ " Nightwing clenched his fingers even tighter around the control stick of the helicopter, but it was no use. There was no way he would be able to regain enough control in time to completely save them. The only way that they could all survive, Dick realized was if he somehow managed to land the helicopter in the Harbor,  _then_ get both Reese  _and_ Gobachov out of the sinking vehicle before all three of them drowned.

Damn. Now how in the actual hell was he going to do that? Nightwing didn't have long to think on it, because the next thing he knew, the front of the helicopter smashed into the surface of Gotham Harbor, and Dick was thrown forward, though luckily he wasn't hurt.

"Both of you!" he called over his shoulder to Reese and Gobachov as water began to flood into the helicopter. "Get out!" Natalia did that without a second thought, but, as Nightwing fished a pocket rebreather out of his utility belt, Dick noticed that Reese was struggling, because she was still tied up in ropes. Then, just as Nightwing was spinning around to help her, a massive wave of water flooded into the helicopter, and Reese was swept away.

It was as if Nightwing's heart stopped. No, no, no, no. Not again. He couldn't lose her again. Without a second thought, Dick slammed the door to the helicopter open and swam out into the dirty water of Gotham Harbor, and looked around in the murky depths, only to see Reese sinking to the bottom, struggling in her bonds. Nightwing swam as fast as he could towards her and grabbed Reese's hands, which were tied together at the wrist.

He slipped a batarang out of his utility belt and sliced through the thick nylon rope, before swimming lower to cut through the ropes around her ankles. As soon as he was done, Dick yanked his rebreather out of his mouth, before holding it up to Reese's. She flicked her eyes, as if telling him she didn't need it, but that was clearly a lie, and Dick didn't listen, just gestured for her to take it.

As soon as Reese had complied, Nightwing wrapped an arm around her waist and dragged the both of them up to the surface of the water, treading water the entire time, while he also tried to hold his breath as long as he could.

Finally, just as Dick felt like his lungs were about to burst from the pressure, their heads broke the surface, and Wally pulled Reese up from the water first, seeing as how Nightwing basically pushed her up, as Batman restrained Natalia further down. Dick pulled himself up onto the wooden pier and coughed up what felt like an entire lungful of water, while even more dripped out of his hair.

All three of them, him, Reese, and Gobachov, were soaking wet and knowing how dirty the Harbor water was, Dick wouldn't be surprised if he and Reese got sick after this. That made Dick pause, and he realized now what he had done, and what had happened.

Reese, she was alive. As in, breathing, living, and  _not dead_. 

Pulling himself to his feet, Nightwing leaned against one of the lights that were lined up and tried to catch his breath. This day, so far, seeing as how the sun was only just beginning to rise, had been both mentally and physically exhausting. So, that was why when Reese turned around to make sure he was okay, as the morning sky in Gotham turned into a blaze of oranges, reds, and pinks, Dick kissed her.

He kissed her as lovingly and passionately as he could, not even caring that Wally and Bruce were standing right there. Dick wanted to make sure that Reese was  _actually_ here right now, with him, at this very moment, and that this wasn't some sort of twisted dream. But, when her hand curled around the back of his neck, and the skin on _her_ neck shivered the tiniest bit, Nightwing knew it wasn't a dream. This was very real...and Reese was very cold.

"You're freezing, Rhysalin," he whispered once they had separated, and Reese gave a small laugh, though in Dick's ears it sounded forced.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, and Dick glanced down at her. "That paperweight must have been very heavy," this time, it was Dick's turn to chuckle, but he was genuine. "If I had known it would hurt you as it did, I never would've hit you as _hard_ as I did,"

"Reese," Dick whispered to her, leaning his forehead against hers, and interlocking their fingers. "I'm fine. But, you have no  _idea_ how terrified I was when I thought you were dead. When I thought you weren't coming back," thoughts began running through his head again.

Of the person, made to look like Reese, disintegrating before his eyes...

Of Luke's smirk, his teeth stained red with blood from when Nightwing had  _exploded_ and almost killed him...

"I almost killed him, you know," Nightwing spoke up as a whole squad of GCPD showed up to the warehouse, lights flashing. "Luke," he added when Reese glanced at him quizzically. "He acted like he was the one who had killed you. And, something in the way he said it like he was  _so sure_ that you were gone, I sort of...snapped," he waited for Reese to reprimand him, or say something that would make Nightwing feel guilty of what he had almost done, but she didn't. Quite the opposite, in fact.

"You should've," she said simply. "It would've taken away a lot of problems." Over Reese's shoulder, Dick suddenly caught sight of Commissioner Gordon heading there way, and that was when he realized that Reese still wasn't wearing a mask.

"Wear this," he said quickly, giving her an extra mask he had stashed in his utility belt. "Gordon's heading our way, and even though I'm pretty sure he knows our identities, I really don't want to test that theory," Reese took the mask and quickly stuck it over her eyes, hiding those beautiful brown pools that Richard Grayson found so endearing, just as the Commissioner reached them.

"Nightwing, Silverbird," Gordon said by way of greeting."Any particular reason the two of you are soaking wet?" Nightwing and Silverbird glanced at each other, before Dick finally spoke, hooking a thumb over his shoulder to point at the surface of the Harbor.

"The pilot of the helicopter shot himself in the head," Dick said gravely. "That's what caused the helicopter to go down in the first place," Gordon gave a small nod, before gesturing to some of the CSIs that were milling around on the docks. As Babs' dad was about to walk away, a thought suddenly lanced through Nightwing's mind, and he grabbed Gordon's forearm. "Inside the warehouse, there's a man unconscious by one of the support beams. He's a metahuman with the power to disintegrate anything he touches. I need you to bring him to Arkham as soon as possible and put him in solitary. We'll come and interrogate him later,"

Gordon gave a solid nod, before dispatching another squad of cops to bring Luke in. As he walked away, Batman and Kid Flash made their way over, after Bruce had handed off Gobachov to another officer to bring her into Blackgate.

"You two okay?" Batman asked, and Nightwing glanced down at Silverbird before turning back to Bruce.

"We're fine," Dick said simply, and Bruce nodded.

"Head home then and get some sleep. I'll be back in a little bit," Nightwing nodded before he noticed that Wally was practically bouncing up and down on his toes. When he noticed Dick's quizzical glance, KF shrugged his shoulders.

"I gotta head back to Central City, too," Wally said simply. "Your boy Wall-man has a college interview tomorrow," After they said their good-byes, Kid Flash ran off, and Nightwing and Silverbird walked over to the Batmobile that Reese had originally taken to the docks, while Bruce finished up with the GCPD before he would take the Batmobile 2.0 back to the cave.

"I'm really glad you're not dead," Dick whispered as he and Reese slid into the Batmobile, her in the passenger seat, him driving, with the windows open so the two of them dried faster. Reese laughed as the Batmobile roared off of the docks, and the sound was a pleasant reprieve from the pain of thinking about what had happened in the past couple of hours.

"Well," Reese continued, reaching over and grabbing Dick's hand off of the steering wheel and interlocking their fingers across the central console. "I'm glad you rescued me," The rest of the ride back to the Batcave was silent, though Nightwing assumed that was mostly his fault. His head was too preoccupied with mundane thoughts on what-if scenarios.

What if he hadn't woken up in the cave when he did?

What if it really  _had_ been Reese who was disintegrated by Luke?

What if-

Nightwing's thoughts, which were now bordering on morbid and macabre, were drawn away from him when he and Silverbird entered the secret ground entrance to the Batcave, which was hidden behind a waterfall. Inside, the cave was deserted, and Nightwing put the Batmobile into 'park' but sat in the driver's seat for a few minutes, long after Reese had gotten out. This whole thing seemed way too surreal like it was still all a dream.

"Bluebird, you coming?" Reese's voice caught Dick's attention, and he sighed for a minute before climbing out of the car. Reese was standing next to the Batcomputer, and she looked strangely self-conscious.

"What is it?" Nightwing asked her, and Reese shrugged.

"Nothing, really," she said simply, walking closer until she and Dick were nose-to-nose. "I was just wondering..." there was a sudden rustle of fabric, and both Nightwing and Silverbird froze. Dick saw Reese tilt her head for a second, listening before she sighed. "Alright, Lauren, you and Jason can come out now," Reese's sister and the newest Robin crept out from behind the costume pods up on the balcony, and Dick tilted his head up.

"What are you two doing up?" he asked. "It's Saturday, and Alfred normally doesn't wake  _anybody_ up on the weekend until at least nine," Lauren shrugged.

"We were wondering where you guys were," she said simply. "I came down here looking for Reese, but all three of you were gone. I was just wondering if you guys found a lead on something," scenes from the docks suddenly flashed through Dick's brain, and he almost collapsed. As it were, he did stumble a bit but was able to catch himself before he completely face-planted on the floor.

"Dick, you okay?" Jason asked, and Nightwing glanced for a split-second at Reese, who was gazing at him with concern dancing in her eyes, before he turned back to the younger Robin, and nodded.

"I'm fine, Jason," Dick said quietly, lying through his teeth. "Just...tired, I guess, from tonight at the docks,"

"What happened at the docks?" this time it was Lauren who asked the question ~~~~, but Reese was the one who answered.

"Nothing that should concern the two of you," she said simply. "Dick's right, you both need sleep. We can talk later," the pre-teens looked reluctant, but when Reese shot them a glare, the two grumbled and headed up the stairs into Wayne Manor. As soon as they were gone, Silverbird whirled on Nightwing. "I thought you said you were okay!" Dick rolled his eyes.

"I'm  _fine_ , Rhysalin," Nightwing told her, though even he could tell that was a blatant lie. "It's like I told Jason, Argent. I'm just tired," but, ever since he had met her, Reese had always been able to read Dick like a book, and this moment was no different.

"No," Reese said softly, walking forward and setting a hand on Dick's cheek, though Nightwing backed away from her. "I think that is part of it, sure. But, Richard, when Lauren asked what happened at the docks, you didn't just look tired. You looked  _scared_. Terrified, even. What  _happened_ tonight, Bluebird?"

"I watched you  _die_ , Reese!" the shout ripped itself from Dick's throat before he was able to think about it, and from the way Reese jerked back, he had startled her. And he hated that. That he was scaring her. "I-I thought it was  _you_ ," Dick whispered, glancing down at his hands, which had begun to tremble. "I thought Luke had killed you. I thought..." he trailed off, but it seemed like Reese had caught the meaning of what he was trying to say because her eyes filled with understanding.

" _Dick_ ," she whispered softly, cupping his cheek again, and turning his face towards hers, "I'm  _okay_. You rescued me, and Luke is going to be locked up in Arkham, where he won't be able to bother anyone ever again. You and I?" Reese grasped both of Dick's hands in hers and looked up at him. "We're gonna be okay. I  _promise_." But, Dick was already shaking his head.

"You shouldn't be making promises like that, Rhysalin," he said quietly, giving Reese a small, but sad smile. "Not when our line of work is like this. Every time we go out on a mission, no matter how dangerous it is, I always worry that one of us won't make it back. That I'll end up leaving you, or vice versa. And tonight," Nightwing internally shuddered. "I thought that had finally happened," Reese stepped closer to Dick, and Nightwing set his hand over hers that was still placed on his cheek. "You can't say that I'm not going to lose you when every mission we go on, we have no idea if any of us are coming back,

"Then we'll live in the moment," Reese said quietly, wrapping her arms around Nightwing's waist, and hugging him. "We won't worry about the future, we'll just live in the here-and-now. Okay?" Dick gave a small nod, and Reese leaned up and pressed her lips to his cheek, as Nightwing leaned down and buried his nose in her hair, heaving a shuddering sigh.

"We should get to sleep," Dick whispered into the crown of Reese's head, before lightly fingering the silver that streaked through her dark brown locks. "I don't think I said this before," he said as the two of them headed into the locker room to change out of their suits. "But, I like the hair," He quickly changed into a t-shirt, and loose sweatpants, before Dick met Reese again by the stairs.

As they made their way over to the stairs that led up to the Manor, Reese flashed her hand and wrapped it around Dick's wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

"Dick, please don't go after Luke," she whispered once Nightwing had looked down at her. "I know you want to. Trust me, I do too, but killing Luke, or rendering him comatose for the rest of his life will only get you in trouble with Bruce," Dick sighed. He knew that Reese had a point, but...

"I won't go after him, Rhysalin," Dick said softly as they entered Bruce's study. By now it was almost six-thirty in the morning, and the sun had risen farther up in the sky. "I promise," Reese gave Dick a small smile, and the two of them headed upstairs. But, before Reese was able to head into her own room, Dick reached out and latched one of his hands around her wrist. "Wait," he said softly. "Stay with me. Please?" Reese nodded before they walked across the hall into Dick's own bedroom.

He didn't know if it was his brain trying to process the fact that Reese  _wasn't_ dead, that she  _was_ actually alive, or an undeniable urge to be near her, but whatever it was, it made Dick tug Reese as close to him as he possibly could once they were under his comforter. 

"Please," he whispered into Reese's hair. "Don't leave by yourself. Not again," Dick didn't think he would be able to bear it. Reese tightened her arms as they were wrapped around him, and her bare foot slid against his.

"I promise, Bluebird," he heard Reese whisper. "I won't leave," Dick sighed, and curled his head closer to Reese, closing his eyes to fall asleep as the day outside lightened. Hopefully, by now he would finally get a good night's sleep. As it were, that didn't last very long...

**\-----**

_At the docks, Nightwing perched himself on the rafters of the warehouse where he had rescued Reese and watched with frozen blood and bated breath as the Leech dragged a struggling figure into the dim light from the swinging lamp that was situated in the middle of the floor._

_This time, he was sure the figure that Luke was dragging around was Reese because this time he was able to see her face. Her beautiful face, framed with dark brown hair and the silver streak, though this time it was crusted with dried blood._

_"I know you're up there, Grayson!" Luke called up as if sensing Nightwing's presence. "Have you come to watch the show?" Nightwing curled his fingers tightly around his eskrima sticks and watched as the Leech threw Reese to the ground, her silver-and-black hood falling around her shoulders. "And such a marvelous show it is indeed," Then, just like before, Luke lunged forward, and his ungloved hand wrapped itself around Reese's throat._

_Though this time, the disintegration was a whole lot slower. It was slow enough that Nightwing was able to see the pain that Reese was going through as her skin began to turn gray. It was slow enough that Reese was able to turn her head towards Nightwing and open her mouth as if to cry out to him. But, it was too late._

_Nightwing barely heard her voice shout in a scratchy, raspy cry before her entire skin turned gray, like a marble statue, before she just turned into dust, the fine particles blowing away, so this time there wasn't even a skeleton left behind._

_"No!"_

**_\-----_ **

_The scene suddenly changed, and Dick found himself standing in the exam room of Gotham's morgue, exactly where Reese, or rather, Silver X, had killed Anthony Wilmer, Gotham's former Medical Examiner, a man who had assaulted her while she was caught under Scarecrow's fear serum, almost two years ago now._

_"Nightwing, Nightwing, Nightwing," a raspy voice said from off to Nightwing's right. "You finally decided to show up," He turned to see Jonathan Crane in his complete fear doctor get-up, complete with the burlap sack covering his head._

_"What do you want, Crane," Nightwing growled, glancing quickly around the exam room. As far as he could tell, he and Scarecrow were the only ones here. "Where's Silverbird?" But, Scarecrow just tsked disapprovingly, wagging a finger in Dick's direction._

_"I'm surprised you don't know," The cornfield-obsessed villain cackled menacingly, before walking over to one of the drawers on the far wall. Nightwing began to get a sinking feeling as Scarecrow stopped next to the drawer's door, and wrapped one hand around the handle. Before he opened it though, Crane reached into his pocket, and grabbed something, before flinging it out._

_The necklace fell to the ground with a faint metallic tingling sound, and Nightwing honestly thought that his heart had stopped. As it were, his legs gave out from beneath him, and he slumped to the floor, just as Crane wrenched the door open and slid the table out._

_But, before Scarecrow was able to pull back the sheet, Nightwing exploded and slammed Crane into the wall, knocking the wind out of the villain obsessed with fear. Not even thinking, he whipped out a batarang and sliced the serrated edge into Crane's chest._

_"You killed her," Nightwing growled, but Scarecrow only gave a wet-sounding laugh as he began to choke on his own blood._

_"Is that really what you think... Bluebird?" Nightwing's eyes widened, and he ripped the sheet off the table, revealing the corpse underneath. _

_But, it wasn't Reese's. It was his. Dick Grayson's peaceful face stared up at him, and he looked like he was sleeping. But, Nightwing knew it was far worse than that. But, if Dick Grayson was the boy under the sheet then that could only mean..._

_Scarecrow's form suddenly shivered and shimmered, as if being viewed from underwater, before the Scarecrow facade melted away, and Reese's blood-stained form was suddenly in front of Nightwing's eyes. He scrambled forward and cupped Reese's face with his hands as the girl began to cough up blood._

_"My...fault..." she whimpered as a few drops of dark-red began to dribble out fo the corner of her lips._

_"No," Nightwing whispered, watching desperately as Reese's breaths began to grow more erratic. "Rhysalin, no, never say something is your fault. You're gonna be okay. We'll get you back to the Batcave, and Alfred can-" he was abruptly cut off as Reese reached up, placing her own blood-stained hand over his, giving a small, sad smile._

_"I'm sorry, Bluebird," Reese whispered. "I should've been...stronger..." then, Reese's hand fell limp, and her chest stopped moving. Nightwing sat there, in complete and utter shock for a minute, before he suddenly realized what had happened. What he had done._

_"Reese?" he cried out, lightly turning her face towards his. "Argent, come on. Rhysalin!" But, it was no use. Silverbird wasn't waking up._

**Wayne Manor; April 22nd, 11:30 EST**

Dick's eyes flew open, and he sat up with a gasp, drenched in a cold sweat. He looked around for a minute, before realizing he was in his bedroom in Wayne Manor, and there was late-morning light shining in between his curtains.

Beside him, with her upper body laying over his arm, was Reese, still sleeping soundly. It was a dream, Dick realized. Just a dream. He ran his free hand over his face, groaning, before he flopped back down onto his sheets, staring up at the ceiling. His movement must have woken Reese because she suddenly stirred next to him before her dark brown eyes blinked open.

"Hey," she said quietly, running her fingers through Dick's hair. "Bluebird, you okay? You look terrified,"

"Nightmares," Dick said plainly, still staring up at the ceiling. He felt Reese shift next to him before she was suddenly lying directly on top of him, causing Dick to look up at her in surprise.

"Hi," Reese whispered, and Dick found himself getting lost in her dark brown eyes.

"Hi," he echoed back to her, and leaned up to give a soft kiss to Reese's lips, which Silverbird immediately reciprocated. Dick moved his hand up so his fingers wove themselves through Reese's hair, and she placed her hand on top of his bare chest. Before it could get too heated though, there was a sudden crash from downstairs, and both of them froze.

"What was that?" Reese asked, climbing off of Dick and standing on his bedroom floor.

"I have no idea," Dick answered, standing up himself. "You want to go and check it out?" Reese shrugged.

"If you want," she answered, before leaning towards him again. "I'd much rather just stay up here with you," Dick hummed as she kissed him, and curled a hand around her waist, his fingers brushing against the line of skin between her leggings and her tank top. After a couple of seconds, they separated, and Dick angled his nose against Reese's, even though she was almost five inches shorter than he was.

"Well,  _I_ think we should go and see what that crash was," he whispered softly, feathering his lips over hers. "And plus, I don't think I could get back to sleep," Reese glanced up at him, and Dick noticed how empathetic her eyes were.

"You helped me with my nightmares," she said quietly. "Maybe I can help with yours," Dick gave a small nod before Lauren suddenly flung open the door to Dick's bedroom, causing the two older heroes to look over at her.

"Oh, good," Reese's sister sighed in relief, and Dick was wondering what was up. "You're awake," Lauren hooked a thumb over her shoulder, and Dick noticed she looked strangely...scared. No, _terrified_. "You two need to get downstairs ASAP and see who just showed up," Dick and Reese exchanged a glance before following Lauren out of the bedroom and downstairs, Dick grabbing a sweatshirt as they walked out.

"Who is it?" Reese asked quietly as they reached the landing, and Lauren looked nervously over her shoulder.

"San Francisco was apparently only the start," Dick and Reese both stopped dead in their tracks as they processed Lauren's words, and Dick thought his palms were going to start bleeding from how hard he was clenching his fists.

As it were, he stopped listening to whatever it was Lauren was saying and stormed downstairs, his blue eyes sparking like lightning. Dick reached the foyer, and as he saw the figure standing just inside the front door, dressed in a pressed Italian suit, that looked actually  _clean_ for once, he legitimately thought his entire moral code was going to snap in two.

It was bad enough when he thought Reese was dead. Now, she was back, alive and well, but here, in Wayne Manor, in Dick's  _home_ stood the man responsible for the lightning-shaped scars around her neck, that by now were only faint lines, but they were still noticeable. The man  _responsible_ for putting a bullet through Reese's shoulder, and causing her to almost bleed out in the infirmary at Mount Justice.

Guiliano Sporelli.

As he saw Dick storming towards him, Sporelli had the  _audacity_ to smirk at him.

"Well, Grayson," he crooned smugly. "Long time, no-" Dick slammed his fist into Sporelli's jaw, stopping the nineteen-year-old from continuing. The force was so powerful, it knocked Sporelli to the side, and the man cupped his jaw. "Well, then," Sporelli spoke up, though it sounded strained, likely from the pain in his mouth. Dick smiled to himself before his eyes turned even stormier, and he slammed Sporelli against the wall.

"What are you doing here?" he growled, but Sporelli only pushed him off and walked back into the center of the foyer, just as Reese entered the room, stopping dead in her tracks as she stared, terrified, at the man standing in front of Dick. When he noticed her presence, Sporelli smiled.

"Hello, pretty bird," he cooed, clasping his hands in front of him. "It seems we may have some business to discuss," Dick crossed his arms and stood next to, but slightly in front of, Reese, subconsciously shielding her from Sporelli.

"Like  _what_?" he growled, but Sporelli shrugged.

"Who do you think funded that Russian scientist's confounded experiments this time?" he asked, and Dick and Reese both tensed up. As if noticing their reactions, Sporelli continued, gesturing to a couple of chairs that were nearby in the living room. "May we sit? I promise I'll tell you everything I know," Dick clenched his fists again, not believing Sporelli's words for a second, but...

They sat.


	20. Chapter 19...A Mad Tea Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Nightwing and Silverbird get into an argument while on a mission with the Team, Dick and Reese both have to live up to some of their mistakes. But, when two of Gotham's own Rogues show up, and Reese's life is put in danger, the danger level ramps up to 100.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be at a Creative Writing camp for the next two weeks, and I won't be able to get any more chapters up in that time. Also, thank you for the patience all of you have had while I work through this latest bout of writers' block.
> 
> Also, if you want to see a cast-list for Project Silverbird, just search me up on Wattpad. The same username and everything.

**Happy Harbor; April 25th, 20:50 EST**

Kaldur stood in front of the holo-computers at Mount Justice, his face looking undeniably grim. Reese honestly didn't know what this was about. She and Dick had been so caught up in the investigation into Guiliano Sporelli and his family for the past three days, that they had neglected their duties and activities with the rest of the Team. Only after Kid Flash and Aqualad had practically dragged them through the Batcave's Zeta tube did Nightwing and Silverbird finally break out of their investigative stupor, so to speak.

"There have been reports of several children and teenagers being led out of their homes and into a forest outside of Spokane, Washington," Kaldur was saying, and Reese rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand. She had been nursing a headache for the past couple of days, and by now it had dulled down to an annoying ache.

"Kids?" M'gann asked, her voice sounding a bit choked up. "That's horrible. What's happening to them?" An elbow jutted gently into Reese's ribs, and she glanced up to see Nightwing gazing at her, concern dancing behind his mask lenses. Not wanting him to worry anymore about her than he already did, Reese subtly shook her head, signifying that she had no desire to talk about it. Not right now, at least.

She was probably just tired, Reese decided as Aqualad finished the briefing and they all headed towards the Bioship. Truthfully, whatever Kaldur had said had gone in one ear and out the other, and Silverbird hadn't even comprehended the details of the mission. But, just as she was about to sit down in her seat _on_ the Bioship, a hand wrapped around her wrist, stopping Reese in her tracks.

Glancing up, Silverbird met Nightwing's eyes, or, mask lenses at least, before he reached up with his free hand and pressed a small button on the side of his mask, revealing Dick Grayson's dark eyes.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, and Reese sighed, knowing there was really no way to get around this conversation.

"Fine," she said, albeit a bit harsher than she attended, if the way Nightwing recoiled the tiniest bit was any indication. Reese sighed heavily, clenching her eyes shut for a moment if only to hold back the beginnings of another painful headache. "Sorry," she apologized quickly as Nightwing sat down at the station in front of her, his seat twisting around so they were sitting face-to-face. 'I'm just...tired," Dick's jaw clenched, one of his tells, signifying that he didn't believe her, but he seemed to buy it, at least for the time being.

"Argent, you've been running yourself ragged for the past  _three days_ ," Nightwing whispered. "You need a break," her head may be pounding like a blacksmith was hitting an anvil inside her brain, but Reese wasn't  _completely_ clueless.

"And what exactly have  _you_ been doing these past seventy-two hours, Bluebird?" she retorted hotly, raising a single eyebrow. Currently, her hood was down, and her mask was off because the tech inside made her eyes hurt. "You've been working just as hard as I have, maybe even worse. So, I wouldn't be talking about  _running myself ragged_. Hypocrisy is beneath you," Normally, Reese wasn't this short-tempered, at least not with Dick, but with the combination of her headache,  _and_ what Sporelli had revealed to the two of them a few days ago in the living room of Wayne Manor, her temper was on a short fuse.

"I'm not trying to be a hypocrite, Rhysalin," Dick shot back, the muscle in his jaw twitching. "I'm just saying I don't want you to drop dead when we get to Spokane because you exhausted yourself," Instead of listening to Nightwing, which, in hindsight, is probably what she  _should've_ done, Reese just got that much closer to losing her temper.

"You  _say_ you're not being a hypocrite," Silverbird leaned forward across her console until she and Nightwing were nose-to-nose, both Gotham vigilantes oblivious to the rest of the Team watching their confrontation with wide eyes and varying degrees of fascination, amusement, and disapproval. "But that is  _exactly_ what you are. You're telling me to stop exhausting myself, but was  _I_ the one who almost crashed into Gotham's clocktower because I wasn't getting enough sleep?"

"That was  _not_ my fault, and you know it," Nightwing shot back, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Solomon Grundy would've killed you because  _you_ weren't paying attention. Batman already gave you a lecture on this, you don't need another one from me,"

"You're right," Reese said finally, sitting back and crossing her arms, and Dick raised an eyebrow.

"I am?" he echoed, and Reese nodded.

"You are," she said, a smirk barely making its way across her face. "I  _don't_ need a lecture from you. Because  _you're_ not the boss of me. I can do whatever the hell I want, doing whatever the hell I want to my body, and you have absolutely no say in it," Leaning back, Reese watched as a whole lot of emotions flicked across Nightwing's face, everything from sadness, to confusion, to what even looked a bit like anger.

Finally, they seemed to settle, revealing a face that held no emotion whatsoever. Nightwing's face was set like a stone-cold statue, and the implications of what exactly that meant were what seemed to snap Reese from her rant. She blinked, and her eyes instantly began to hurt again, though this time it felt like how one would if they looked at the sun for too long, only much,  _much_ , worse.

Reese pressed both hands over her eyes and leaned down so her head was between her knees, trying to stop the pounding in her head from getting any worse.

' _I can take away some of the pain_ ,' M'gann's voice filtered into Reese's mind, but instead of helping, it just made her headache even worse. Sitting back up, Silverbird leaned back, only for the briefest amount of pain to filter out of her head. ' _Reese, that was some of the worst mental pain I've ever felt_ ,' Miss Martian began once the small amount of hurt was gone from Reese's mind. ' _What happened?_ ' Instead of answering verbally, alerting everyone to her current predicament, Silverbird sighed as quietly as she could.

' _I don't know,_' she answered tiredly over the mental link. ' _It started a few days ago, and it's only gotten worse since._ ' There was a small semblance of M'gann giving an empathetic smile before she "spoke" again.

' _Have you told Nightwing?_ ' Despite herself, Reese scoffed out loud, and the glare leveled her way by Dick was enough for M'gann's answer.

' _Do you think I've told him?_ ' Silverbird asked rhetorically, her reply coming out a bit snappish. ' _The last thing I need right now is Dick even more pissed off at me than he already is._ ' 

M'gann didn't answer, and that was the last thing any of them said as the Bioship flew across the United States towards Spokane.

To say the silence was tense would be a gross understatement. There was almost visible tension crackling between Silverbird and Nightwing, though it wasn't angry like the thoughts that were running through either of their heads. The rest of the Team was just too nervous to break it.

**Spokane, Washington; April 25th, 23:00 PST**

By the time the Bioship landed in one of the suburbs of Spokane, both Nightwing's and Silverbird's tempers had cooled considerably, but neither Dick nor Reese wanted to be the first one to apologize. But, it seemed their compromise would have to wait because M'gann told Reese she had to wait on the Bioship.

" _What_?" Silverbird echoed, absolutely affronted. "Why do I need to stay here? I'm  _perfectly_ capable of taking care of myself," That last statement was obviously directed towards Nightwing, who stood towards the back as the rest of the gathered Team as they stood around Reese.

"Reese, that pain I felt in your mind-" Silverbird leveled a vicious glare M'gann's way, and the white Martian masquerading as a green instantly clamped her mouth shut. Luckily, none of the other Team members seemed to notice M'gann's slip-up.

"Fine," Reese grumbled almost silently, crossing her arms and leaning back against her station console. "I'll stay here and man the comms. Would  _that_ make you happy?" there was no answer, because Reese abruptly turned back around, her back facing the Team. "Go," she spoke up, trying not to let her real emotions show. "Do the mission. I should've stayed in Gotham anyway," That last statement was hissed under her breath but somehow, Nightwing caught it, because he turned around just as he was about to walk out of the Bioship.

"Argent-" he began, but Reese cut him off.

"Just  _go_ , Dick," she whispered, but her voice cracked on his name. Nightwing sighed, and as the rest of the Team made their way towards the city, he knelt down so he was level with Reese's eyes.

"Rhysalin..." he began again, trailing off and lightly tilting Silverbird's chin up with his gloved fingers so she would look at him. Surprisingly, Dick found tears glistening behind Reese's mask, and he reached forward, gently pulling the black-and-silver material off of her, setting it on the console next to them. "Talk to me. What's wrong?" Reese ran her teeth over her bottom lip, and if they were in any other situation, and under better circumstances, he would be kissing her.

But, now wasn't the time nor the place for that. Instead, Dick tilted his head, waiting for Reese to speak her mind.

"I'm... _sorry_ ," she began after a few seconds of silence. "For earlier. You didn't deserve that," Nightwing was already shaking his head in response.

"We were both out of line tonight, Argent," Dick said quietly. "We were both being hypocrites. Batman should've given us both a lecture about over-working ourselves, and not just you. I'm sorry," Reese sighed.

"I  _guess_ I can be a little short-tempered sometimes," she admitted and Nightwing gave a small chuckle before he leaned forward a couple of inches closer to Reese.

"A  _little_?" he echoed, shaking his head teasingly. "I think you could give Superboy a run for his money," Silverbird seemed to think he was serious because she suddenly leaned back and narrowed her eyes at Dick. Nightwing only chuckled again. "I'm  _kidding_ , Rhysalin," he told her. "Only when you're tired do you get snippy," Reese gave a small giggle, and it made the corner of Dick's mouth quirk up.

"If I take a nap on the Bioship, will it make you feel better while the rest of you are rescuing the kids?" Nightwing pretended to think about it for a few seconds before he shrugged.

"I mean, you  _obviously_ need your beauty sleep, but-" Reese suddenly slapped his chest, laughing as she did so, which made Dick smile in turn. "See?" he asked rhetorically. "I made you laugh. That's a good sign," Reese just shook her head good-naturedly, and Nightwing stood up.

"Go," Silverbird told him. "Find those kids. As you said, I  _obviously_ need my beauty sleep," Pressing his lips to hers, Dick tried to put as much of an apology as he could into the kiss if only to make sure Reese wasn't mad at him anymore. Reese's hand came up to wrap itself around the back of Nightwing's neck, tugging him down, causing Dick to have to clamp both of his hands on either side of Reese's chair, only to make sure he didn't fall on top of her.

Silverbird's fingers wove their way through Nightwing's hair, and the Bioship, intuitive Martian being that it was, made a chair appear behind Dick, and Nightwing tugged Reese down so she was sitting on his lap. The two vigilantes only separated once they realized that they needed this gas in order to survive called oxygen.

"I take you're not mad at me anymore?" Dick whispered, his lips feathering their way down Reese's neck. Before his girlfriend was able to answer, Wally's voice suddenly sounded in both their commlinks.

" _Boo!_ " the red-haired speedster cried, doing a terrible ghost impression, though it did cause both Nightwing and Silverbird to jump.

"Don't  _do_ that!" Dick hissed, and Wally cackled.

" _What? Interrupt you two? Or scare the living daylights out of you?_ "

"Both," Reese answered.

" _I am glad you two have made up_ ," Kaldur spoke up next, his voice sounding vaguely amused. " _But need I remind you, Nightwing, of the seventeen missing children that have vanished from Spokane and the surrounding area in the past seven days_?" Dick sighed and tapped his commlink.

"I'm coming," he said quietly as Reese stood up, Nightwing following soon behind.

"Don't be  _distracted_ , Bluebird," Reese smirked, and Dick smiled, bending down to kiss her again, but as their lips touched, Artemis' voice crackled through their earpieces.

" _Any day now_ _, Romeo_ _,_ "

"I said I'm coming!" Dick snapped, and the rest of the Team's laughs were all that filled the comms for a few seconds. Nightwing pecked Silverbird on the lips again as fast as he could, walking out of the Bioship before anyone else could reprimand him again. God only knows what would've happened if  _Batman_ had been here.

When Nightwing saw the Team leaning against various trees close by, Dick narrowed his eyes as Wally opened his mouth, the teasing spilling out as fast as the speedster could eat. Dick ignored it as best he could instead he walked out into the darkened forest, looking for any clues as to the whereabouts of the missing children.

' _Miss Martian, link us up_ ,' Nightwing thought, and the mental link was quickly established between all of them, Silverbird included.

' _Any clues as to where the kids could be_?' Reese thought, and even though she couldn't see him, Dick shook his head.

' _Negatory_ ,' he answered. ' _All we got are animal tracks. Kaldur, what were the original aspects of the first few disappearances_?'

' _The parents of the missing children said that everything seemed normal until one night the children just stood up and walked out of their homes, as if in a trance. The parents weren't able to stop them,_ '

' _Hmm,_ ' Artemis mused as Nightwing turned over a log that was in the Team's path. ' _That reminds me of a fairy tale my dad used to tell me and Jade when we were younger,_ '

' _Sportsmaster read fairy tales_?' Miss Martian's voice was skeptical, and Nightwing didn't blame her.

' _I didn't really think he was the "fairy tale" type_ ,' he agreed, but Artemis shook her head.

' _Oh, he wasn't_ ,' she admitted. ' _The "fairy tales" he would tell us were the original Grimm tales. The really, uh, grim ones,'_

 _'No shit,'_ Conner quipped, and Nightwing let out a small chuckle under his breath.

' _That fairy tale sounds like the Pied Piper of Hamelin,'_ Reese spoke up as the rest of the Team neared a clearing, where a faint orange light was flickering. Nightwing swung an arm out, stopping them in their tracks as Silverbird continued her explanation. ' _The story was originally published by Robert Browning in 1842 and is set in Lower Germany in the village of Hamelin during the year 1284. The villagers have a rat problem, so the townspeople hire a rat-catcher, the Pied Piper, to come and get rid of the vermin. After the rats are gone they refuse to pay the Piper, so a year later he returns and this time, instead of rats being lured out, it was the children,'_

Despite himself, Nightwing couldn't help but grin at the random fact his girlfriend seemed to have picked up. Kid Flash was also shocked at the new information.

' _How do you_ _know_ _that_?' Wally asked, and the mental equivalent of a smirk traveled down the mental link from Reese's end.

' _I read_ ,' was her simple answer, and Dick would've laughed, had a figure not entered the firelight in the clearing.

' _Everyone, quiet_ ,' he burst out, and the Team went still. Even from here, Nightwing wasn't able to make out the figure's face, though it wasn't exactly hard to see the smaller figure standing just off to the side.

' _That's gotta be one of the missing kids,_ ' Artemis spoke up through the psychic link, and Dick nodded in agreement. Reaching into his utility belt, Nightwing pulled out a pair of smoke bombs, but before he was able to, the grown figure, whom Dick realized to be a man, reached behind him and pulled out a green stovepipe hat, a patterned ribbon wrapping around the base, with a card sticking out.

Dick froze in his tracks.

' _Shitshitshitshitshit_ ,' he swore through the mental link, and Nightwing felt Reese's confusion from where she was back at the Bioship.

' _Bluebird, what is it_?' Reese asked, and Nightwing watched as Jervis Tetch seemed to comfort the whimpering child before a whole line of children entered the clearing out of the grove of trees on the other side of the clearing.

' _Mad Hatter,_ ' he answered Silverbird's question simply, and Reese swore herself once she heard.

' _What's he doing all the way out here_?' she asked, and even though she could see him, Dick shrugged. ' _I thought he was supposed to be locked up in Arkham_?'

' _Well, apparently your asylum needs better security,_ ' Conner said, and Nightwing rolled his eyes as the Team watched Mad Hatter strut around the fireplace.

' _Superboy, everyone knows that Arkham needs better_ security,' Dick said dryly. ' _It's basically a common fact. Rhysalin, call Batman,_ ' Nightwing continued. ' _He needs to know what's going on,_ '

' _Roger,_ ' Silverbird answered simply, but before anything else could happen, there was the sound of something ripping, and M'gann crumpled to the ground, crying out in pain. She also alerted Mad Hatter to the Team's position, but Dick could worry about that later. For now, he needed to find out what was wrong with Miss Martian.

"B-Bio... _ship_ ," the Martian managed to gasp out. "In...trouble," Nightwing's blood ran cold, just as there was the sound of Reese's Canary Cry decimating a number of trees back towards the entrance of the forest.

" _Dick_!" Reese's voice sounded over the commlink, and she sounded absolutely terrified. " _Tetch isn't the only one of Batman's Rogues that's a bit far from home,_ "

"Who else is  _there_?" Nightwing burst out, already running back towards the Bioship. When Reese answered, Nightwing swore he almost swallowed his tongue.

" _Bane_ ," Dick launched himself over a log and sprinted through the underbrush.

" _What_?" he shouted, and he could hear the sounds of Silverbird and the man who broke Batman's back battling it out. "Reese, get out of there!"

" _I...can't_ ," the way that Reese's voice sounded choked up, could only mean one or two things.

 

One...she was about to lose control of her emotions.

 

Two...Bane was choking the life out of her.

 

And as much as Nightwing wished it was the former, Dick had an itching feeling that it was the latter. His fears and suspicions were confirmed as when he burst out of the trees, Nightwing was met with the sight of Bane, his luchador mask still as black and white as ever, though the difference was the fact that Bane also had Silverbird's slender neck in his meaty grip, and he was slowly choking the life out of her.

And if the color of Reese's face was any indication, she didn't have much time. Which left Nightwing with only one thing to do. Dick could only hope that Bruce would get here in time.

Swinging around, Nightwing grabbed onto a nearby tree branch, making sure his fingers wrapped around it before he vaulted off, almost flying towards Bane and Reese. In midair, Dick electrified his eskrima sticks, and as soon as he was close enough, jammed the sparking ends into the base of Bane's Venom depository. The man let out a guttural roar as the chemical began to spray, and he dropped Silverbird on the ground, where she gasped for breath, rubbing her bruised throat with one hand. Reaching behind, Bane grabbed Nightwing and threw him.

Dick slammed against a tree...

There was a resounding 'CRACK'...

And everything suddenly went black, save for Reese's scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a different point-of-view style for this chapter, where it wasn't specifically Reese or Dick, it kind of encompassed everyone. I kind of like it, so that's the POV style I'll be using for the rest of this book.
> 
> (Dick and Reese's sexual tension though...)
> 
> P.P.S: I stayed up until almost 1 AM writing this, soooooo..........


	21. SNEAK PEEK @ Golden Guard: The Blood-Drop Virus [Book 3]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In honor of me submitting Nightwing: Project Silverbird into the 2019 Watty's over on Wattpad, here is a sneak peek of the first chapter of Golden Guard: The Blood-Drop Virus, book 3 of The Story of Reese Michaels. This book will probably be coming out in late October of 2019, so please be patient with me.
> 
> If anyone has a Wattpad account, please go over and vote in the Fanfiction category for my book. I would really appreciate it. Thank you.
> 
> P.S: Inside the sneak peek is a pretty big spoiler for the next couple chapters of Project Silverbird, so if you don't want to read them I will put a warning where they start.

_< Sneak Peek of Golden Guard: The Blood-Drop Virus>_

**Coming**   **Late Fall 2019**

**\-------**

_**Chapter 1: His Kryptonite** _

**Blüdhaven; April 6, 2015, 22:50 EST**

The woman exited the office building, tightening her coat's belt around her waist and hiking the strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder. She had lived in Gotham City for a little over two years, but she felt like she had grown up there. Maybe it was the company.

So, a year ago, when she and her boyfriend had decided to make the move to Gotham's sister city, and the arguably more dangerous one, the woman felt like she could protect herself. And she could. Being trained by a man who knew thirty-seven different martial arts forms had toned her muscles so they were lithe and fit.

Of course, that didn't mean that she wasn't able to be caught off-guard. Which was exactly what had happened. Her cell phone rang when she was about halfway home, and, like any other normal person in the twenty-first century, she answered it.

" _You almost home?_ " a voice sounded over the line, and the woman gave a soft smile, running her fingers through her dark hair that had a silver streak on the right side.

"Relax, Bluebird," she answered, still smiling. "I'm maybe ten blocks away. Don't get your suit into a twist. I'll be back in a few minutes. Besides," she added. "I can take care of myself," There was a sigh over the line as her boyfriend reluctantly agreed with her statement.

" _Trust me, Rhysalin,_ " he told her. " _I know. Just, please be careful. That gang of the Penguin's is still out there, and you can't use your powers out in the open without giving away your identity,_ " By now, Reese was getting pretty annoyed, and rolled her eyes as she passed by a seemingly empty alleyway.

"Okay, first of all?" she began, not noticing the dark figure that began to trail behind her. "I was trained by someone we _both_ know could kick  _your_ ass in a second. And second of all? I'm not an  _idiot_ , Richard. I'm not going to be careless enough to jeopardize my identity by using my powers out in the open like that," Dick sighed.

" _I know. I'm sorry, Argent,_ " he whispered into the cell phone as he paced around his and Reese's shared loft apartment, running his free hand through his dark hair before he leaned against one of the lower panes of one of the large, ceiling-high windows, looking down into the nightlife of Blüdhaven. " _It's just...after Jason...I just don't want you to get hurt,_ " Again, Reese smiled, though this time it was sad, and the dark figure behind her was walking silently over the ground, getting closer by the second.

"Dick," she whispered. "I know, Jason was like a brother to me, and he  _was_ the closest thing to a brother that you had. I miss him too. But, it's been a year. Bruce is still torn up about it, and from what Alfred says, the guilt is eating away at him from the inside out," Reese broke off for a second, running her lip over her bottom teeth before she continued. "I don't want to see that happen to you too," It was silent over the line for a second before Dick caught his breath enough to speak.

" _Rhysalin,_ " he whispered, and Reese quickly wiped away a tear that had escaped from her eye with the heel of her hand. " _You won't lose me, I promise. I'm just worried about losing you,_ " Reese smiled before she spoke up again, now only about five blocks from the apartment.

"Okay, now let's change the subject," she began, but before she could say anything, her ears caught a noise.

A rhythmic clomping sound that appeared at regular intervals back from the way she had come.

Footsteps. Steadily, Reese sped up and strained her super-hearing in time to hear the footsteps speed up as well. Glancing behind her, Reese caught sight of a tall and muscular figure clothed all in black, steel-toed boots covering his feet.

He was now running towards her, at a speed that was fairly impressive for a man his size. Whipping around, Reese began to run at a sped that was impressive for any other average 5'8" nineteen-year-old. Of course, other average nineteen-year-olds hadn't been trained by both Black Canary  _and_ the Batman.

"Dick?" Reese managed to wheeze through her cellphone as the man gained on her. "There's a man behind me," it was silent on the other end, but there was rustling, and Reese knew he was already putting on his Nightwing suit. There was a glint of something metallic from the glow of a streetlight, and Reese's eyes widened. "Bluebird, he has a gun,"

" _Hang on!_ " Nightwing shouted as he grappled out of one of the apartment's windows, transferring Reese's call from his cell phone to his commlink. " _Just, hang on, Rhysalin!_ " 

If she was anywhere else right now, Reese wouldn't be nearly as scared as she was right this very moment. But ( **SPOILER** ) after the events of a year-and-a-half ago, when Bane had kidnapped her for one of the Sporelli crime family's sex trafficking rings, Reese had acquired a whole new fear. ( **END OF SPOILER** )

She quickly glanced over her shoulder and was shocked to see that her pursuer was no longer there. For a split second, Reese wondered if Nightwing had already gotten to him, but then there was a shift just in front of her before a large, unwelcoming arm encircled her torso, yanking her down an alley and muffling her human screams as a sweaty hand clamped itself over her mouth. 

Reese struggled as her back was pressed firmly, and almost painfully against a brick wall, the man's breath wafting disgustingly over her face.

"So beautiful," he cooed, slowly unwrapping Reese's coat belt, the tan fabric pooling on the filthy ground. "Oh, the  _fun_ I'll have with you," Reese struggled some more, but to no avail. Her captor was much,  _much_ stronger than he looked. Just as the man's hand slipped under the fabric of  Reese's thin sweater, a new voice sounded from the other end of the alley, and Reese clenched her eyes shut for a second out of sheer relief.

"Hey! Let her go!" Nightwing, in all his black and blue glory, stood tall at the entrance to the alleyway, his eskrima sticks at his side, crackling with electricity. The man didn't move and the muscles of Batman's former protege, tensed even more.

"What if I don't want to?" the man asked smugly, his hand still underneath Reese's sweater, the calluses rubbing uncomfortably against her skin. "There ain't nothin' you can do about it," Seeing an opening, Reese brought her leg up and slammed her knee into the man's crotch, and the man collapsed to the ground, moaning in pain. "You little  _bitch_ ," the man snarled, reaching for his gun, and thunder suddenly rumbled overhead, just before the rain began to pour down, soaking everything to the bone.

Lightning flashed, and it revealed Nightwing's face, rainwater running down his hair in rivulets, before he struck, leaping from his original spot at the entrance to the alley and slamming both ends of the electrified batons into he man's shoulders. Reese had dived to the side to get out of the way just as the gun had gone off, the man howling in agony as hundreds of volts passed through his system, and when she pressed a hand against her waist, it came away red with blood.

Nightwing was currently pounding the would-be rapist into a bloody pulp, and at first, he didn't hear his girlfriend's voice. Only when the man had collapsed to the ground, covered in bruises and his own blood, did Dick finally focus.

"Bluebird?" the voice was soft, barely more than a whisper, but it sounded terrified, and that was enough for Nightwing to turn around, eyes wide, only to see his girlfriend leaning against the wall, one hand pressed against the hem of her sweater, the area around it dark with blood. She suddenly collapsed, and Nightwing leaped forward, catching her now semi-conscious form before it could hit the ground.

"Rhysalin?" he whispered, brushing a few silky, silver strands of hair away from her face, and he noticed, even with his gloves on, that she was burning up.

"Dick..." her voice was almost silent, but Nightwing was able to catch it, and he lifted Reese gently into his arms, careful not to jostle her gunshot wound. "It... _hurts_ ," Shifting Reese in his arms, Nightwing pulled his grappler from one of his gadget pouches and shot the hook towards a nearby roof.

"Shh," he whispered, feathering his lips over Reese's sweaty forehead. "I know, Rhysalin. I'm going to get you to the hospital. You're going to be okay," Reese only whimpered in pain, and Dick hissed out a breath between his teeth.

**Gotham City; April 6, 2015, 23:40 EST**

Since there wasn't a very good hospital nearby in Blüdhaven, Nightwing needed to make the short trip to Gotham, though, with Reese unconscious and steadily losing more and more of her blood, it looked like Dick didn't have much time.

"Hey!" Nightwing cried out as the doors to Gotham General slid open. "We need some doctors over here!" A familiar, dark-haired woman was the first to run over, and Nightwing gave a small sigh of relief. Dr. Leslie "Lee" Thompkins was a long-time friend of Bruce, of  _Batman_ , and she was also the one who had helped save Reese's life two years ago after Natalia Gobachov, a psychotic Russian doctor/scientist, shot her in the stomach.

"Nightwing, what happened?" she cried as she led Dick and an unconscious Reese into an exam room.

"She was on her way home," Nightwing began as Lee quickly ushered the other orderlies out of the room. "I called her, and we talked for a bit before something happened..." Dick didn't mean to be dramatic, but he paused after his last words. Lee looked up from where she was cutting off Reese's sweater to get a better look at her wound.

"Nightwing..." Lee began before she too paused in her words. " _Dick_ , this looks  _bad_. What happened?" Nightwing clenched his eyes shut as the images from barely an hour earlier flashed through his mind like the lightning that shone outside.

"Someone...attacked her," he began, his voice softer than before. "He was going to rape her," Lee stopped what she was doing, which was currently putting Reese on an anesthetic, to look up at him.

"You stopped him though," she continued. "Right?" Nightwing just gave her an affronted look.

"Of course, I did," Dick glared at her, glancing around the empty room before he reached up and pulled off his mask. "The guy was bloodied and unconscious in a back alley when Reese and I came here. I assume somebody found him, thought he was mugged, then brought him to the hospital," Dr. Thompkins paused again and looked up from Reese's bloodied form, where she was currently trying to pull the bullet out.

"What are you going to do about it?" she asked, and Dick shrugged.

"What can I do?" he asked, glancing down and flinching a bit as Lee suddenly yanked his sleeve up and jabbed a needle into the inside of his elbow to give Reese a blood transfusion since she and Dick shared the same blood-type, O-Positive.

"Take care of her," was the simple answer, and it made Nightwing glance up, raising an eyebrow. After a few seconds of silence, Lee spoke up again.

"Dick, what you and Reese have..." she trailed off, and Nightwing tightened his grip around Reese's fingers as his blood flowed out of his veins and into hers.

"Trust me," Dick whispered. "I know what we have. I-I almost lost her...last year, with Jason. I don't know what I would do if something even worse than that were too happen to her," Dr. Thompkins gave a soft smile before there was a sudden gasp, and Reese's eyes flew open, startling Nightwing so much he almost fell off the stool he was sitting on.

"Hey, hey, hey," he whispered, using his free hand to gently push Reese back down on the exam table so she wouldn't tear her stitches. "Calm down, Rhysalin,"

"Where am I?" she gasped out, silver eyes wide and dark hair splayed out beneath her. "Bluebird, what's going on?"

"Her meta powers must have burnt through the anesthetic faster than we originally thought," Dr. Thompkins spoke up from the other side of the room where she was cleaning a bloody rag. When Reese noticed the doctor, she jerked, almost ripping the IV from her arm. Her eyes widened, and a confused expression flicked across her face.

"Lee?" Reese breathed out, looking around wildly. "What happened?" Dick glanced down at her, his grip tightening a bit more on Reese's hand.

"Argent, you  _really_ don't remember?" Dick whispered, and when she shook her head, Nightwing leaned down. "Rhysalin, you got  _shot_. You almost  _died_! Again," Reese's eyes widened, and she tried to sit up again, but to no avail, because Nightwing pushed her back down.

"I'm... _sorry_ , Bluebird," she whispered, and Dick tilted his head, though neither of them noticed Lee Thompkins slip out of the room, leaving the two of them alone.

"Sorry?" Nightwing echoed, cupping Reese's face gently in his hands. "Rhysalin, why would you be sorry? This wasn't your fault.  _None_ of this was  _your fault_ ," Tears began to leak out of Reese's almost ethereal silver eyes, and, glancing around, Dick carefully helped her sit up on the exam table, and he hopped up next to her. "Argent..." he whispered, running his fingers through Reese's dark hair. "Talk to me. What's  _wrong_?" Reese laid her head down on Dick's shoulder and she heaved a sigh before she spoke.

"I should've listened to you," she began, and Nightwing flicked his eyes towards her. "Tonight. When you said 'be careful'. Instead I-" she suddenly broke off, and Dick wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb.

"Instead, you blame yourself for what happened tonight," he continued her thought, and Reese glanced up at him through half-lidded eyes. "You blame yourself for letting that douchebag get the drop on you, when instead it is  _his_ stupidity, for trying to mug Nightwing's girlfriend,"

"He wasn't going to mug me," Reese whispered, and Dick tightened his grip around her shoulders.

"I know," he whispered to her, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the top of Reese's head. "This is me trying to make light of the situation. How am I doing?" Despite everything, Reese let out a small laugh, and Dick counted that as progress.

"You're doing  _fine_ , Bluebird," she said quietly before continuing. "Thank you," she began. "For being there. Tonight," Dick straightened up and Reese cuddled into his shoulder again.

"Of course, Rhysalin," he answered. "You're the love of my life, why wouldn't I come when some guy was trying to rape you?" Dick felt Reese's entire body tense at his words, and he internally flinched. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I...know it's still a sore subject for you,"

( **WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR Nightwing: Project Silverbird AHEAD!!! Do _NOT_ Read If You Don't Want To Be Spoiled!!!** )

It was a sore subject for everyone. Two years ago, during Nightwing and Silverbird's investigation into the Sporelli crime family, the Team had a mission out in Spokane, Washington, where Nightwing had been seriously injured. Six busted ribs and a bruised spleen had kept him out of action for  _weeks_. Right after the mission, Reese had said she needed to think about some things, and she left. In the middle of the night. The next morning, Dick had woken up to find one side of his bed cold.

Fast forward to three weeks later, and Reese was nowhere to be found. They finally got a lead after Diana, Wonder Woman, had spotted Bane carrying a struggling figure with an inhibitor collar around her neck into a shipping container bound for Vienna, Austria.

Batman had wanted Nightwing out of the action, saying he was too emotionally attached to the mission, and that he was to stay at the Batcave to fully heal, with Alfred watching over him. Dick waited as long as it took for the Batplane to leave the U.S airspace before he called the Team and they went after them.

The rescue op was one of the most dangerous and risky that Nightwing had ever executed, whether it be by himself, with Batman, or the Team. Reese was being held in an underground fight club, where the champion's prize was a single night with whatever girl was on "display".

That particular night, it was Reese. When Nightwing had realized what was going on, he exploded, and the adrenaline rush his anger gave him was enough to bypass the pain of his injuries. He almost killed them. He  _would have_ killed them, had Batman not pulled Dick off before he caused an international incident.

Because those men that were fighting over who got to sleep with Reese first? They were United Nations representatives. Dignitaries.  _Diplomats_. Men that were supposed to bring peace for the  _world_ , not prove to Nightwing once again that you could never trust politicians.

Jokes on them, though. Because after a certain former protege of the Batman paid a visit to the arrested sex offenders in their ICE cells, guess who slept with his girlfriend on New Years' Eve, their first anniversary? A certain black-haired, blue-eyed acrobat from the circus, that's who.

( **END OF SPOILER** )

"Nightwing... _Dick_!" Reese's voice jerked Dick from his thoughts, and he blinked away the memories. He tilted his head up and met Reese's eyes. She looked concerned, and Nightwing had a feeling she had been trying to get his attention for a while.

"Hmm?" he asked, and Reese tilted her head.

"Bluebird, don't think about Vienna," she said simply, and Dick scoffed.

"I wasn't thinking about Vienna," he claimed, but Nightwing also forgot that he and Silverbird had been dating for more than two years now, and she could read him like a book.

"I know when you're lying, Richard," she told him, and Dick winced, not entirely pleased that she had broken out his full name.

"Okay, fine," he relented. "I  _was_ thinking about Vienna, I also realized, that the number of times I've almost lost you, Rhysalin..." Nightwing trailed off, and he nestled his nose into the crown of her head, inhaling the scent of her strawberry shampoo, which she hadn't changed since they were seventeen. "I... _can't_ lose you, Argent. I thought that losing Jason was bad. Losing  _you_? That would be a thousand times worse,"

There was a sudden knock on the door, and both of them froze. Dick's hand flew down swiped his domino mask off the table, placing it back over his eyes just as the exam room doors opened, revealing another familiar face.

"Commissioner Gordon," Nightwing spoke up, and Batgirl's father raised an eyebrow.

"Nightwing," Jim said in greeting. "It's been a while since we've seen you in Gotham. I assume you're here because of Miss Michaels' attack tonight?" Batman had to start giving more credit to Jim Gordon because he was smarter than he looked. In response to his question, Nightwing nodded.

"There wasn't a suitable hospital close by, so I made my way here. Dick Grayson has already been contacted, he's on his way," Nightwing got a weird taste in his mouth from talking about himself in the third person, but Gordon gave a nod before he turned his head back towards Reese.

"I know this is usually the Blüdhaven Police Department's jurisdiction because it happened in their city, but you wouldn't mind answering a few questions about what transpired tonight, would you?" Reese's eyes flicked towards Nightwing's, and he gave her a small nod, before turning back to Gordon.

"I'll take that as my cue to leave," he spoke, giving a small, two-fingered salute before turning to walk out the door. But, before he could, Gordon stopped him in his tracks.

"Where's your partner?" his voice sounded through the now-silent room, and Dick froze.

"Excuse me?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder to see Reese with a briefly panicked look on her face before it disappeared. Commissioner Gordon just shrugged.

"Silverbird," he repeated. "I don't see her here. Mind telling me where she is?" Nightwing racked his brain for a viable excuse that wouldn't give away Reese's secret identity when suddenly an ambulance rolled to a stop in front of the Emergency Room's doors, sirens wailing.

"Nightwing?" Reese's voice cut through Dick's thoughts, and he turned back to them as EMTs brought a man into the ER on a stretcher. "Where's Silverbird? She wasn't there tonight,"

"Uh," Nightwing trailed off for a second before a lightbulb almost literally appeared over his head as he thought of an excuse. "She's sick! Yeah, that's it.  _Bad_ stomach flu. Like,  _really_ bad. Almost  _hospital_ bad," Reese suddenly made a slicing motion across her throat, letting Dick know that he was laying it on a bit thick, but she quickly dropped her hand when Gordon turned around to raise an eyebrow at her, to which she just shrugged. "She's just...sick," Nightwing said finally, and Gordon gave a small, skeptical nod.

" _Okay_..." he hummed, and Nightwing and Reese exchanged another panicked glance before Gordon seemed to buy Dick's lie. "Well, give her my sympathies. I'm sure you're fully capable of protecting Blüdhaven while she recovers," Dick thought that seemed to be a bit of a backhanded compliment, but he didn't argue with it, and instead turned around almost as fast as Wally and walked out the door without looking back. As soon as he was out of sight of Gordon and Reese, Nightwing leaned against the wall, giving a large sigh of relief.

"Commissioner gave you a bit of shock?" a voice said suddenly, and Dick jumped, only to see Lee standing a few feet away, a small smirk on her lips.

"Jesus, Lee!" Nightwing whisper-shouted. "Don't  _do_ that!" Dr. Thompkins just laughed for a split second, before her face turned serious, and she held a file out to Nightwing.

"I thought you'd like to know that Reese's attacker was just checked into our Trauma Recovery Ward," she said gravely, and Dick froze. The would-be rapist was  _here_? Nightwing took the file from Lee and flipped through it for a second before he got to the man's personal information. He scanned it, before abruptly freezing again.

**Name: Daniel J. Gillis**

**Age: 35**

**DOB: January 12, 1980**

**Familial Relation(s): Laurel Gillis, wife (age 33), Jordan Gillis, daughter (age 13)**

Without saying anything else to Lee, Nightwing whipped around and almost flew up the stairwell to Gotham General's Trauma Recovery Ward, which was on the eighth floor, brushing past other orderlies, nurses, and doctors without so much as an "excuse me".

The recovery ward was quiet, the only person up there aside from the patients was a receptionist who was currently dozing at the desk, and Dick bypassed her silently. He didn't need any distractions. Nightwing was on a mission, and he intended to finish it. Slowly opening Gillis' door, Dick shut it behind him, the lock clicking quietly, alerting the man inside.

" 'Ello?" he called out quietly, his speech sounding muffled from his missing teeth. "Who's there?" Outside, the storm was still raging, rain pounding against the glass, almost seeming to come in sideways. Suddenly, the lights flickered, then went out, as a power surge swept across Gotham. It took a few seconds for the hospital's reserve generators to turn on, but when they did the hospital was lit again. Except for Danny Gillis' room. The bruised man looked around wildly, considering he couldn't see out of one of his eyes because it was swelled shut, seemingly scared out of his wits, and Dick relished in the fear. Oh God, he was turning into Bruce.

"Do you enjoy it?" Nightwing called out finally, his face and suit symbol concealed in shadow. "Does it bring you  _joy_ to hurt women and girls the way that you have?" Still not entirely sure who it was that he was talking to, Gillis quickly shook his head, the heart monitor next to his head beginning to beep wildly.

"No," he said quickly. "I would never hurt nobody. I swear," Nightwing suddenly shot forward, like the bullet out of a gun, and wrapped one hand around Gillis' throat, cutting off the man's air supply. As he began to splutter and cough, and his face inched towards red, Dick leaned forward and almost growled towards him.

" _Liar_ ," his voice was like venom, dripping from one of Cheshire's blades, and Gillis instantly broke out in a cold sweat as he realized...that he was basically screwed. "Do you rape your wife and daughter too? Do you treat them the same way you treat the other  _seventeen_ women and girls you've defiled in the past six months?"

Knowing this was going on in Blüdhaven, in Dick's _city_ , his  _home_ , to girls the same age as him and Reese, nineteen, behind his back, was enough to bring Nightwing's temper to a boil. A boil where the bubbles were about to flow up and over the top of the pot, burning and scalding everything it touched.

"I...didn't...want...to..." Gillis managed to gasp out, but Dick only tightened his grip, and the man's face began to inch towards purple. "I...swear,"

"I don't  _believe_ you," he growled again, but Gillis shook his head.

"No...he...made...me," that made Nightwing pause and stand up straight, finally releasing his grip on Gillis' throat. The man lurched upwards, coughing like someone who had an asthma attack, before rubbing his now-bruised throat, turning to glare at Nightwing. "You're  _crazy_ ," Gillis breathed out, but Dick only leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and putting on his best Batglare.

" _I'm_ not the one who tried to rape a defenseless nineteen-year-old girl," Gillis paused before Nightwing continued, eyes narrowed ferociously behind his domino mask. "Now _talk_ ," the man sighed, then began to speak.

"His name," Gillis began. "is Shakespeare,"

The name sent a jolt of pure, ice-cold  _fear_ down Dick's spine and he fell back against the wall as his knees simply...gave out from beneath him. That was impossible. Shakespeare, the enigmatic and dangerous head of the Playwright Gang, a deadly sex trafficking ring based out of Oakland, had never made his presence known this far east. Nightwing and Silverbird only knew about it because Kid Flash and Artemis were investigating the pedophile's activities thirty-five miles away in Palo Alto.

"He's had his eye on the girl for a while," Gillis continued, oblivious to Dick's inner torment. "Said he'd kill my family if I didn't bring her to him,"

"You're lying," Nightwing spoke gravely, arms still crossed over his chest, but Gillis shook his head.

"No," he said. "I swear to you that I'm not. Shakespeare said he'd get that girl, whatever it took. And no superhero could stand in his way. Not even a Bat," Suddenly, there was the sound of an explosion and the entire hospital shook to its foundation. Nightwing stumbled, catching himself on the nearby counter as Gillis began to tremble. "He's here," the man began to whimper. "You'll never save her now,"

"Try me," Dick growled, before sprinting out the door, past the now-awake receptionist, who fainted dead on the floor when she saw Nightwing race by. 

Dick practically flew down the stairs, trying to get to the ground floor as quickly as possible. Okay, he  _may_ have used his acrobatics to bypass a few flights...or maybe six, but that was beside the point. Nightwing threw open the door to the first floor of Gotham General, only to be met with a cloud of dust and plaster. Quickly slipping on his respirator so he wouldn't breathe in hell knows what, Dick made his way, albeit slowly, through the wreckage, checking now and then for a pulse on the people who were trapped.

The ones that were alive, Nightwing sent outside, where he could see that Gordon and the rest of the GCPD who had shown up had quickly set up a relief center. Damn, they moved fast. But, Reese was Dick's top priority right now. He weaved through massive pieces of plaster, moving one section away, revealing Lee Thompkins trapped under a tipped-over desk.

"Have you seen Reese?" he asked as he helped the doctor stand, but swore when Lee shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry, Dick," he quickly ushered her and another victim outside, going back to his search, when suddenly, a few minutes later a voice sounded over the commotion of people screaming and crying.

" _Where is Richard Grayson_?" Dick's head snapped towards the door, and he made his way outside, taking his respirator off in the process, only for it to fall to the asphalt when he got into the storming night air. Shakespeare stood in the center of the parking lot, Reese in a headlock right next to him, a pearl-handled pistol held to her temple.

"Let her go, Shakespeare!" Dick called out, but the man only shook his head, as if disappointed.

"Tsk, tsk, Nightwing," he said. "I didn't ask for _you_ , I asked for  _Dick. Grayson._ Now, where is he," Nightwing flicked his eyes towards Reese, who was staring at him with a frantic look in her eye, trying to shake her head to tell him to not do what he was about to do, but Shakespeare just held her tighter. "I thought I said 'no. squirming.'?" he told her, and Reese stilled her movements, but her eyes still flicked around wildly. Dick sighed and reached for his mask. If it meant that Reese would be safe, then let Batman kick him out. He didn't care anymore.

Because Rhysalin Blaire Devon Michaels, the hero known as Silverbird, was Dick Grayson's, Nightwing's, Kryptonite. And it would eventually kill the both of them.

"You want Dick Grayson?" Nightwing called out, peeling the material off of his eyes. "Then you got him,"


	22. Chapter 20...Immunity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a flashback, Guiliano Sporelli reveals what he knows to Dick and Reese, before his father and sister attack Wayne Manor. Back in the present, Nightwing is seriously injured by Bane and begins to relive his past, starting with his parents' murder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...or where Dick gets thrown into a tree.

**Wayne Manor; April 22, 2013, 11:45 EST**

_Three Days Ago_

Dick, Reese, and Guiliano Sporelli made their way into Wayne Manor's living room, two of them beyond skeptical of what was to come. Sporelli, on the other hand, seemed to be almost smug, and his lip kept twitching, trying to hold back his self-indulgent smirk. Dick was the one who finally spoke up once the two vigilantes had sat on the black leather couch in the center of the room, while Sporelli sat on the armchair opposite them.

"Why exactly," Dick Grayson began, his dark eyes narrowed. "Are you here? No one asked you to come. You just showed up. I could just as easily have Alfred throw you out," That damn smirk made its way onto Sporelli's face, the one that made his eyebrow twitch up as well, and it made Reese want to slap it off of his face.

"You wouldn't do  _that_ ," Sporelli said, sounding almost disappointed. "You need  _me_ to give  _you_ information on my father's activities in Gotham," Despite everything, Reese had to admit that Sporelli had a point, as dumb and arrogant that it seemed. Eventually, seeing as how Dick was getting closer and closer to losing his temper with Alessandro Sporelli's son, Reese reached forward and clamped a hand on her boyfriend's thigh, feeling Dick's muscles clench beneath her palm.

"What do you know?" she asked quietly, and Sporelli tilted his head. 

"To know  _that_ , pretty bird, it'll have to come at a price," he rubbed his fingers together as though golden coins and doubloons were falling through. Before Reese was able to stop him, Dick had already stood up and crossed the room, slamming Sporelli into the fireplace mantle, forearm pressed against the mafia son's clavicle.

The height difference between the two of them, Reese realized, was laughable. Reese herself clocked in at a solid 5'7, shorter than both of the males in front of her. But, Dick Grayson's height maxed out at 6'0, while Sporelli was only 5'9, two inches taller than Reese, but three inches  _shorter_ than Dick. Though it wasn't  _that_ big of a deal, Dick and Sporelli seemed to think that it was.

"If I remember correctly," Dick growled, looking down on the man in front of him. "The last time that you tried to hit on Reese when I was here, it didn't go very well," Reese suddenly flashbacked to January, when the fundraiser in Gotham had been held, and Nightwing had knocked out Sporelli, just before she and Dick had discovered Reese's superhearing. She could also see that Sporelli was slowly losing oxygen, and as much as she hated the guy, she couldn't just let Dick kill him. Reese reached forward and set a hand on Dick's bicep, and she could practically feel the angry tension just flow out of him.

"Enough," she said softly, staring directly into Dick's eyes. "We need his information," Reese turned to Sporelli and raised an eyebrow. "What's your price?" Guiliano's eyes flicked down to where Dick's arm was still pressed against his collarbone and the Flying Grayson reluctantly stepped back.

"I want immunity," he spoke finally, and both vigilantes stared at him.

"Immunity?" Dick echoed, raising his eyebrow. "What the hell would you need that for?"

"Now  _that_ , Grayson," Sporelli said, once against smirking. "Is for  _me_ to know, and  _you_ don't need to worry about," Reese saw that Dick was about to explode again, so she grabbed his arms and began to lead him out of the room.

"Would you excuse us for a moment?" she asked, and Sporelli nodded. Once they were out in the hallway, and out of Guiliano's earshot, Reese turned around and glared at Dick, who only scoffed in response.

"You can't seriously want to  _accept_ this guy's offer, do you?" Reese rolled her eyes, throwing her arms out to the side.

"What else are we supposed to  _do_ , Dick?" she retorted. "We can't just let him go! We need to find out what he knows," Dick sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Rhysalin, look at me," he stepped forward and cupped Reese's face in his hands, and surprisingly Reese noticed that Dick looked almost  _scared_. "Look at me, Reese," Dick pleaded, his voice cracking a bit. "Please," Reese flicked her eyes up, and Dick gave a small, quiet sigh. "I'm sorry, Argent," Nightwing whispered. "I know we need to get more information on Gobachov and her connection to Alessandro Sporelli, but...I can't  _lose_ you again,"

Reese's eyes widened, and she mentally scolded herself. She knew what this was about now, and she felt so guilty for letting the events of earlier slip her mind. After Silverbird had left to hunt down Natalia Gobachov, she had been captured by the Leech, a villain thought to have died when he was killed in Mount Justice back in December. After, Nightwing had legitimately thought that Reese was dead.  That experience, those feelings, they don't just go away overnight, and Dick knew that from personal experience, on multiple occasions.

Reese, just last night...

His parents, over eight years ago now, and Reese knew for a fact that Tony Zucco's crime still haunted Dick to this day. And why wouldn't it? Seeing your parents murdered right before your eyes, and at such a tender age, was enough to traumatize a child, like Bruce and Dick, for example, for life. Reese's parents had died two years ago, in an explosion set by the Leech, out in Keystone, but she wasn't present when it happened, mainly because she was in a coma at Mount Justice, after being caught in a  _different_ explosion caused by Project CADMUS at the Metropolis Natural History Museum on the Fourth of July a few years ago.

"You won't lose me, Bluebird," Reese said quietly, leaning forward until her forehead pressed against Dick's, though who she was trying to convince more, Nightwing or herself, Silverbird had no sane clue. Despite it, Dick gave a small chuckle.

"That's what you said before you hit me over the head with a metal paperweight," Reese winced as she suddenly turned Dick around so she could see the impressive-looking bump on his head. When she lightly touched it with the tips of her fingers, Dick hissed in pain.

"I  _am_ sorry about that," Reese told him, running her teeth over bottom lip. "You probably have a concussion now," Dick glanced over his shoulder and gave a small smirk.

"I always said you didn't know your own strength," Despite the angst that was in their conversation from earlier, Reese gave a small laugh.

"How about this?" she spoke up after a few moments of thinking. "We'll agree to Sporelli's deal, but the 'price' for his immunity, whatever it may be, can't be anything even remotely romantic, okay?" Dick still looked extremely reluctant, and Reese didn't blame him in the slightest, but after a second or two, or three or four, he nodded.

"Okay, here's the deal," Dick spoke up as the two of them made their way back into Wayne Manor's living room, where Guiliano Sporelli was stretched across his chair like a big jungle cat...or maybe a wolf. Either way, Sporelli looked far too much at home in Bruce Wayne's. He glanced up as they walked in.

"I see you've come to a decision," Sporelli said, even though it was supposed to be phrased as a question, he spoke like a statement.

"We have," Reese answered coldly as Dick leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "We'll see what we can do about your immunity _i_ _f_ we know what your price is," Sporelli tilted his head, his eyes flicking over to meet Dick's before he turned back to Reese.

"Celeste Ricci," he said simply, and Reese and Dick both tensed their muscles. "My price is Celeste Ricci,"

It had been over a month, almost two since Reese's doppelgänger had been kidnapped by two assassins from the League of Shadows, one of which who was now dead, killed by Nightwing himself, while the other was locked up in Blackgate Penitentiary after he had drugged Reese on her birthday. Jiu-Lang Kong, the Shadow who was still alive, so far had kept his mouth shut about the whole thing, and they couldn't exactly  _ask_ the other one, considering he was six feet under, so in a list of clues as to where Celeste could be, Nightwing and Silverbird had none.

"What?" Reese breathed out, and her super hearing suddenly spiked, letting all the sound from her immediate vicinity to flood into her brain. Their three heartbeats, hers and Dick's beating at a faster pace than Sporelli's calm one. Lauren, up in her room, her TV blaring some sort of cartoon. Jason, down in the Batcave, practicing with a wooden practice bō staff that he had swiped from Reese.

And then, the sound of tires crunching over gravel. Confused, because Bruce and Alfred, who were both at Wayne Enterprises, weren't due to be back for another two hours. Straining her ears forward, Reese caught the sound of guns cocking, which obviously ruled out both Bruce  _and_ the British Butler. As it were, that could only mean one thing.

"You set us up," Reese realized out loud as Dick bolted to the window, looking out to the front drive of Wayne Manor. Sporelli looked beyond confused at her words.

"What?" he asked, but was suddenly thrown to the ground by one of Dick's right hooks. "What do you mean?" Reese took Nightwing's place at the window only to see three black SUVs in the circular driveway. Several men in black suits, henchmen of the Sporelli crime family, Reese realized, stepped out of the cars, all of them carrying various guns, and began to make their way towards the front door. Leading the way was Alessandro Sporelli, the head of the family and Guiliano's father, with Alexandra Lichweed right on his tail.

"Son of a bitch," Reese swore, and Dick looked up from where he was currently trying to pummel Sporelli into the floor, with success, might I add, since said mafia son was currently sporting a fairly impressive black eye and split lip.

"What is it?" he asked, just as there was a loud knock on the massive oak doors, and a booming voice echoed from outside the manor.

"Richard John Grayson!" the Italian-accented words bounced around inside Reese's head, and her eyes met Dick's again, wide with fear. Slowly, he stood up and made his way over to the front door, but not before he turned back towards Reese.

"Get Lauren," he whispered. "Bring her down to the cave through the passage in my room," Reese was already shaking her head.

"No. Bluebird, I can help," she tried to reason with him, but Dick was adamant.

"I know you can, Rhysalin," he told her. "Trust me, I do. But, I need to know that you're safe. I just got you back, and I don't want to lose you ever again," Reese wanted to protest again, to say that Dick had no control over her actions, but then she thought about Lauren, and how she was at the mercy of the crime family that was currently trying to break down the Batman's door.

"Okay," Reese said, nodding her head a bit. "Just...be careful, alright?" This time, Dick was the one who smirked, his eyes lighting up like the fireworks at an Independence Day celebration.

"Always," he said, pressing his forehead against hers.

"And forever," Reese finished the mantra, and Dick gave her a brief peck on the lips before he turned around and made his way towards the front door. Halfway there, as a ninja would signal to his comrades, Dick waved a hand around behind his back, and Reese shot up the grand staircase almost as fast as Kid Flash.

When she got to the second-floor landing, there was the sound of breaking glass, and Reese felt her heart stop, and her blood ran cold through her veins as she realized the noise came from just down the hall. From Lauren's room. Running down the corridor, Reese threw open the door to her sister's room only to see Kallik Adjuk, the assassin from Alaska and the same one who had "killed" Luke in Mount Justice back in December standing in a circle of broken glass, the window in shards behind her.

"Hey!" Reese cried out, standing in the open doorway. "Leave her alone!" Kallik turned around, the polar bear mask covering her facial expression, but Reese could infer from the woman's body language what it was. Suddenly, gunshots, loud, popping gunshots, came from downstairs, and her heart stopped all over again, but she couldn't make sure Dick was okay, not when Lauren was being threatened by the same woman who had actually, legitimately  _killed_ Reese two years ago.

Plus, Dick was an acrobat, so he'd be able to dodge the bullets, right?  _Right_?

There was a sudden whishing sound, and Reese jerked to the side, just in time for her eye to miss getting stabbed by an obsidian-bladed, pearl-handled dagger that lodged itself in the wall where her head had been moments before. Black as night, the weapon seemed to suck all of the light from the immediate vicinity.

"Quick reflexes," Kallik crooned, sounding eerily like Cheshire. Reese narrowed her eyes.

"I've been told they're comparable to Black Canary's," she retorted, not letting her guard down for a second. Kallik tilted her head in thought.

"Fitting," the assassin smirked. "Considering you are her protege," Reese suddenly whipped out her own metallic bō staff, swinging it around and extending the weapon in midair, allowing it to thud into Kallik's chest, throwing her backward. She thudded into Lauren's daffodil-yellow walls, the plaster cracking beneath the force of Reese's throw.

"I'm  _nobody's_ protege," Reese said, pressing the end of her bō staff harder into the garb of Kallik's League of Shadows uniform, which was covered in protective armor. Suddenly, there was a bright flash, and golden light blinded Reese for a few seconds. When her vision cleared, Kallik was gone. "Where'd she go?" Reese wondered aloud, and Lauren shrugged.

"Maybe she had a flash grenade or something?" the eleven-year-old asked, and her older sister shrugged, running her lip over her bottom teeth, thinking.

"Or something," Reese said finally before the sound of footsteps alerted both sisters, and Reese turned her head in time to see Dick round the corner into Lauren's room, looking quite flushed. Reese was so glad that he was alive, and not dead, but Dick was pretty firm.

"Come on!" he exclaimed, grabbing Reese's hand. "We have to go," Dick lead Reese out of her sister's bedroom, the seventeen-year-old grabbing Lauren's hand just in time, which, Reese quickly realized, was actually quite warm. Just as the three of them ducked into Dick's bedroom, four of Alessandro Sporelli's goons appeared at the top of the staircase. Inside the secret elevator in Dick's closet that went down to the Batcave, it was very cramped. The elevator was hardly built for two, much less three, but they managed, somehow, and eventually made their way down to the cave, where Jason, dressed as Robin, sans the mask, was waiting.

"What are we gonna do?" Lauren asked as Dick began to type something on the Batcomputer.

"We're heading to Mount Justice," he said simply. "Right now, we can't stay here, it's too dangerous," Lauren tilted her head.

"Can't you, Robin, and Silverbird take on those guys without a fight?" she asked, but Dick shook his head.

"No," was his abrupt answer. "They somehow got their hands on the same weapons the League of Shadows used on Diana when they captured Celeste in March," The Zeta tube turned on, and the four of them, three of which were superheroes, made their way inside.

**Recognized Nightwing B01, Silverbird B10, Robin B11, Lauren Michaels A33**

When they walked into the cave, it seemed deserted. Reese listened, but the only heartbeats she could hear were those of Lauren, Jason, Dick, and herself.

"Okay," she breathed out once she was sure that they were alone. "Jason, take Lauren and set her up in one of the empty rooms. I'll be there in a few minutes," Jason nodded, and he and Lauren walked down the hall. Once they had gone, everything that had happened in the last forty-five minutes suddenly caught up to her, and she began to tremble.

Dick ran his hands up and down Reese's arms, trying to bring her back to the present. Though it took a few tries, he eventually succeeded, and Reese's eyes cleared. But, with it brought an excruciating headache. Bringing her palm to her temple, Reese stumbled back, prompting Dick to lunge forward in order to catch her and save her from falling to the ground.

"Rhysalin?" Dick asked, sounding very worried, which was completely understandable. "You okay?" Just as quickly as it had appeared, the headache  _disappeared_ , and Silverbird regained her balance.

"I'm fine, Bluebird," she said quietly, cautiously, waiting for her headache, or migraine may be a more accurate word for it, returned. But, when it didn't, Reese, though exhausted from what she had just endured, continued. "I think I'm just tired," she admitted, and Dick gave a small nod.

"You  _do_ look pretty tired, Argent," he agreed, tilting her head around as if  _that_ would give him some more clues. "Get some rest," He was right. Reese felt like she was about to drop dead from exhaustion, so she gave a nod, before looking back towards Dick.

"You're not looking too coherent yourself, Bluebird," she retorted, giving a small smirk, before reaching over and grabbing Dick's hand, intertwining their fingers.

"Well, what do you suggest, Rhysalin?" this time, Nightwing was the one who smirked, and his words made Reese's cheeks flush. Sure, she and Dick had slept together, but they hadn't  _slept_ together. Mostly, because they hadn't really  _talked_ about it. It wasn't that Reese didn't  _want_ to sleep with Dick, because she did, eventually. 

It was just that, whenever Dick got flirty, which was pretty often, it just brought up certain...questions. What if  _he_ didn't want to have sex with her? What if he  _did_? As Reese spiraled deeper and deeper into the farthest reaches of her subconscious, she began to zone out, until finally Dick reached forward and waved his fingers in front of her face.

"You  _sure_ you're okay?" he asked, but before Reese could answer a metaphorical lightbulb went off in Dick's head, and his eyes lit up before he grabbed his girlfriend's hand and began to lead her down the hallway.

"Dick, what are you doing?" Reese asked, but Dick only smiled over his shoulder.

"You're tired," he said simply in response. "I'm making you sleep," at first, Reese though that they were going to go to the med bay, and that Nightwing would give her some sort of sedative, but instead Dick led Reese inside the room she used whenever they had to stay over at Mount Justice for whatever reason. Waiting until the door slid shut behind him, Dick turned towards Reese.

"What are you doing?" Silverbird asked, raising an eyebrow, but Nightwing said nothing, instead, he only leaned forward and planted his lips firmly on Reese's. She was shocked for a moment before Reese felt her eyes flutter shut, and she readily returned Dick's kiss. The two of them, with touch being their love language and all, steadily began to make their way towards Reese's bed. Losing her balance, Reese fell back, her head bouncing against the fluffy cotton pillows, but her mind was hazy, the only feeling that of Dick Grayson's lips moving against hers.

Sure, the two of them had kissed before, hell, they'd made out before too. And then, there was that mission in Paris where in order to escape from a bunch of SPYRAL agents at this socialite's party, Dick Grayson and Reese Michaels had to play the part of that stereotypical underage-drunken couple who got a bit too...handsy with each other. Not that Reese minded, of course, but-

"Stop thinking," Dick's whispered voice drew Reese from her thoughts, and her eyes blinked open to find Bruce Wayne's oldest ward staring down at her, one of his hands on the right side of her head, the other entwined with her left. Reese feigned ignorance.

"What?" she asked, but obviously, Dick was too smart for that.

"I can practically  _see_ the gears in your brain moving around," Dick smirked, and Reese felt her own lips twitch upwards.

"Am I  _that_ transparent?" Reese asked, and Dick shook his head, shifting so he flopped down on his side on Reese's bed beside her. He leaned on his elbow and whispered in her ear.

"You're not transparent, Rhysalin," he said quietly, nosing his way down to the curve of her chin. "But I can read you like a book. And it's my favorite story," Dick feathered his lips over hers again, huffing out a small laugh. "I love you, and that connection we share...it can't it  _won't_ be broken, not by anyone,"

Reese didn't answer, mainly because she had fallen asleep, but if she would've been awake, things probably would've escalated from there. When Dick noticed that his girlfriend _was_ fast asleep, he gave a soft smile, pressing his lips to her forehead before settling down next to her, falling asleep soon after as well.

So, when Jason walked into Reese's room, looking for her, and instead Batman's second Robin found Nightwing coiled tightly around Lauren's sister, both of them sleeping like rocks, all Jason did was smile a bit, before backing out of Reese's room and locking the door, just to make sure no one else disturbed them, should the rest of the Team return to the cave at some point. All was right in the world at the moment, at least in terms of Dick and Reese' relationship, but as everybody knows, nothing good lasts forever.

**Spokane, Washington; April 25, 2013, 23:50 EST**

_Present Day_

Everything hurt.

He wasn't dead, of that much Dick was sure. But, if the pain in his side was anything to go by, his injuries were extensive, with a few broken ribs at the very least. Nightwing could feel the blood rushing through his ears. Dick didn't know what had happened.

The last thing he remembered was Jervis Tetch, also known as Mad Hatter, being behind a string of child kidnappings in the Pacific Northwest. Almost two dozen in the past week. Though it hurt to do so, Nightwing blinked his eyes, only to be met with absolute darkness, which, for a split second, made Dick panic.

Was he blind? Would he not be able to see anything, to see  _Reese_ , ever again? That was also when Dick realized that he  _was_ able to see, it was just dark.  _Idiot_ , he thought.  _It's the middle of the night. Of course, it's gonna be dark outside. We're also in the middle of the woods_.

Reaching up, careful to mind his most likely broken ribs, Nightwing pressed the button on the side of his domino mask that turned on his night-vision. Surprisingly, it still worked. When he blinked again, everything had a pale green tint and looking up, or rather down, because of Dick then noticing that he was lodged upside down in a massive oak tree, almost fifteen feet above the ground. 

Carefully extracting himself from the branches, Nightwing turned himself right-side-up and slowly lowered himself to the ground. But, when his feet touched the wet earth, Dick's left ankle erupted in pain that was so bad it made him cry out. Upon further inspection, Nightwing realized that his ankle wasn't in fact broken, just badly sprained.  _Really_ badly sprained.

His suit was also absolutely shredded, presumably from the many,  _many_ tree branches he had crashed into when Bane threw. Dick's blood suddenly ran cold as a thought shot through his head, firing up his synapses. It also made him stop dead in his tracks.

Son of a...dammit.  _Bane_. Those memories, the ones that happened  _after_ Jervis Tetch's revelation, suddenly came rushing back through Nightwing's brain, and the sheer flow of information caused him to stumble again, causing another fiery bolt of pain to shoot up his ankle.

Gritting his teeth to keep from crying out, Dick caught sight of a jutting tree branch from a log and he easily snapped off a long piece, beginning to use it as a walking stick. It was a long, painful, and tiring process in order to make his way from where he woke up in the tree, back to the clearing with the Bioship and the rest of the Team, not to mention Reese, but Dick managed.

It also took much longer than it would have had Nightwing  _not_ been injured, but eventually, though it was increasingly difficult to not put any pressure on his sprained ankle, Dick made it to the clearing, where he found the Team fighting a bunch of kids, who seemed to be in some sort of trance.

Mad Hatter must have hypnotized them, Nightwing realized. But, where was Reese? As soon as he had thought that, there was a shrill scream, and a de-Venomed Bane was tossed out of the woods on the other side of the clearing like a ragdoll, a silver-and-black arrow sprouting from his shoulder, causing the Spanish man to howl in agony.

Silverbird from the trees almost like a Dryad in Greek Mythology. But, when Reese caught sight of Dick, dressed in a Nightwing suit that looked like it had been put through a wood chipper, she stopped dead in her tracks, looking quite a bit like a deer caught in headlights. Her mouth moved, but nothing came out. 

As she stared at him, Reese didn't notice Mad Hatter coming up from behind, his hat's serrated edge already out and swinging towards her slender neck, one of the only places on her body not protected by her Silverbird costume. After that, for Dick, everything seemed to go in slow motion. As Tetch's hat got closer and closer to Reese's carotid artery, Nightwing whipped out a wing-ding and hurled it towards the Gotham City Rogue. somehow, thinking he was throwing the projectile towards her, Reese dodged to the side just in time, and Nightwing's own bladed weapon lodged into Jervis Tetch's hat, making it stick fast to a tree that was just behind Reese's right shoulder.

"Damn you, Nightwing!" Mad Hatter cried out, trying to pry his hat out from underneath the wing-ding. "Damn you!"

Dick's vision was fluctuating, a sign that the concussion he had likely sustained when Reese had hit him over the head with that Wonder Woman paperweight three days ago was getting worse. Trying not to fall to the ground, Nightwing watched as Tetch gave up on his hat, instead, he began to move closer to the injured vigilante. But, before the psychotic man was able to get to close, a shiny, pitch-black batarang whizzed through the air, knocking Mad Hatter to the ground, knocking him out.

Batman appeared, as if from the shadows, and though you couldn't see the top half of his face because it was covered by his cowl, Bruce's jaw was set like stone. With both Bane and Jervis Tetch now incapacitated, the kidnapped kids suddenly snapped out of whatever trance they had been under. Dick's strength, at the same time, flowed out of his body like a rushing river, or a wave receding from the shore, and he collapsed to the ground, but Reese was able to catch him. Or at least, she tried to.

"Hey," she whispered, sitting down and carefully maneuvering Nightwing's body so the top half of his torso was in Silverbird's lap.

"Argent..." Nightwing trailed off, bringing one hand up to brush against Reese's cheek. "I-I don't feel too good," Droplets of something wet dripped onto Dick's skin, and that was when he realized that Reese was crying.

"Come on, Bluebird," she whispered again, her eyes flicking over his shredded Nightwing suit before finally meeting Dick's gaze behind his mask lenses. "Stay awake," Batman came over to the two of them next, his face becoming vastly concerned.

"What happened?" he asked, kneeling down on Nightwing's other side, his gauntlets pausing for a second before they lay on the grass to the side of Dick's right shoulder.

"It was Bane," Silverbird said simply, biting her lower lip. "He'd been choking me. I couldn't scream at him because..." she trailed off, but Bruce only gave an understanding smile before he stood up.

"We need to bring him to the Watchtower," Reese, and the rest of the Team, for that matter, were all staring at the Batman in pure shock. Wally, of course, was the first to speak.

"What?" KF burst out, eyes wide, his foot tapping as fast as Thumper's, the little rabbit from Bambi.

"The infirmary at Mount Justice is too far away, and the Batcave can't be compromised. The Team already knows about the Watchtower, and it has the resources necessary to save Nightwing's life. We'll go to the Watchtower," Reese wasn't sure if Bruce either didn't  _know_ about the entire Team, save for Beastboy, knowing Dick's identity, or he just didn't care, but she had to admit, the League's orbiting headquarters, while not weaponized, did have enough medicinal equipment to treat almost any and all injuries, save for death, which is what Dick would  _be_ if they didn't hurry.

"Batman," Silverbird began, clenching her jaw. "Don't you think, you  _may_ want to hurry it up a bit? I mean, unless you  _want_ Nightwing to die from being thrown into a tree? I doubt you want that, right?" Bruce gave Reese a wicked-looking glare, but whenever her emotions, like worry or fear, got heightened too much, she got snippy. And right now, Reese was getting a whole lot of glucose in her bloodstream, which caused fear, cortisol, to become more prominent.

"Silverbird's right," Bruce said finally. "We need to get Nightwing to the Watchtower ASAP. He doesn't have much time. Superboy, Aqualad, grab either end. There's a Zeta tube close by," At this point, Dick was almost fully unconscious, but he groaned in pain as the Team's two strongest members picked him up, and Nightwing began to murmur almost incoherently.

"Nu vreau să o interpretez, Mami,"  _I don't want to perform, Mom._ Reese glanced at Nightwing from the corner of her eyes as he began to mumble in Romanian. Wally glanced at her.

"What's he saying?" Kid Flash asked, but Reese only shook her head.

"He's reliving his past," she said simply, and Wally's eyes widened as he too glanced down at Nightwing as Dick continued his mumbling.

" Un om înfricoșător...cu frânghii,"  _A scary man...with the ropes._ He's reliving the death of his parents, Reese realized as her two teammates carried Nightwing into the Zeta Tube, golden light enveloping all three of them.

** Recognized Nightwing B01, Aqualad B01, Superboy B04 **

"Oh, Bluebird..." Reese whispered quietly as she stepped into the Zeta Tube herself.

** Recognized Silverbird B10 **

"What have you got yourself into this time?"


	23. Chapter 21...The Girl At The Circus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because of his injuries, Nightwing begins to relive his past, starting with Haly's Circus, and the beginning of Dick and Reese's story is revealed. After, Batman briefs the Team on a startling new development involving both Bane and a new villain, the Frate Nero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick Blurb...everyone is a year older in this, so instead of Dick's parents falling in 2006, they died in 2005. That is all. Also, I apologize if I got any Romani translations wrong, I got everything from Google Translate.
> 
> The beginning of this is BY FAR the saddest part of this book, aside from the ending, so get a box of tissues before you begin reading. I GOT GOOSEBUMPS WRITING THIS...NOT EVEN KIDDING! :'{

_Guest Starring: David Zayas as Tony Zucco, Robert De Niro as Jack Haly, Rob Gorrie as John Grayson (Father), Abbi Snee as Mary Grayson, Jake T. Austin as John Grayson (Cousin), Olivia Rodrigo as Young Reese Michaels, Tinsley Price as Young Lauren Michaels, and Tomaso Sanelli as Young Dick Grayson_

**_\-----_ **

**Haly's International Traveling Circus, Gotham City; April 1, 2005, 21:15 EST**

_Eight Years Ago_

"Welcome, Gothamites, to  _Haly's Circus_!" The young boy, barely more than nine years old, stood inside the big blue Big-Top circus tent, peeking through the thick curtain as Jack Haly, the elderly owner, and ringmaster of the circus, greeted everyone who had come. Dick Grayson, the youngest son and member of the acrobatic act The Flying Graysons stood behind the curtain, biting his lip as his dark eyes flickered over all of the people who filled the wooden bleachers of the circus tent. In just a little under fifty minutes, Dick's family, the  _rest_ of the Flying Graysons would perform their act, a performance made even more daring by the fact that the acrobats opted to not use a safety net.

It was a miracle that no one had fallen yet...

Growing a bit bored, Dick plopped down on the grassy plot of land the circus had claimed as its own for the two nights it was stationed here in the American city of Gotham, in the state of New Jersey. Tomorrow, the circus would make its way just over the bay to Metropolis, and from there, Opal City, in Maryland. Metropolis was sure to be exciting, with maybe a sighting of Superman in the future.

The youngest Grayson had heard stories of the Justice League, a septet of aliens, meta-humans, an Amazonian warrior, and then Dick's all-time favorite hero...the  _Batman_. The vigilante from Gotham was said to be a myth by most, mostly because they had never seen the Dark Knight in action. But, Dick was one of the select few who believed in the heroic Bat. Of course, _he_ hadn't seen Batman either, but that didn't mean he didn't exist. Dick thought he must not be social.

He would give almost  _anything_ to meet the enigmatic man in the Bat-suit. Lost in his thoughts, watching as the clowns, Bobo and Jilly ran around the ring bopping each other on the heads with a patterned umbrella, Dick didn't notice the shadowed figure coming up behind him until it was too late.

The nine-year-old gave a very feminine-sounding squeak when he felt a pair of hands squeeze his sides, and he whipped around, only to be met with the giddy face of his cousin, John Grayson. John, named after Dick's father, was sixteen, seven years older than Dick himself, and therefore, according to both Jack Haly  _and_ Dick's mother, old enough to perform, unlike the younger cousin.

"Esti un nesimtit," Dick grumbled towards his cousin in Romanian.  _You're a jerk_. Standing up, Dick brushed himself off, glaring towards John, who was still giggling on the ground and switched to speaking English with ease. "You know I hate being scared," John shook his head, still laughing, and wiped away a tear that had escaped from his eye.

"Îmi pare rău, verișor," the older boy said once he had composed himself.  _Sorry, cousin_. "Ești prea ușor să speri,"  _You're just too easy to startle_. Dick crossed his arms and pouted as John, Dick's father, Mary, his mother, and his aunt and uncle, Karla and Rick entered the same area of the tent where Dick and John had been messing around.

"Ce se întâmplă?" Dick's father asked, growing a bit stern.  _What's going on?_ John scrambled to his feet, brushing the dirt off of his performance costume as he stood in front of the frowning faces of both his uncle and father.

"I-" he began, but Dick cut him off, turning sheepish.

"I almost fell into the circus ring," he lied, making everybody, including his cousin, turn and look at him. After a few seconds of silence, Dick continued. "I was messing around where I shouldn't have been. John stopped me from ruining the show," Mary knelt in front of her son and placed her hands on either side of his face.

"You wouldn't have ruined the show, micul meu Robin,"  _My little Robin._ "John was just worried about you. We all would've been," Dick gave a small nod in agreement before his father spoke up.

"Our performance is the last act of tonight's circus," the older John said. "Is everyone ready?" the rest of Dick's family nodded their agreement, everyone except Dick himself. The young boy looked up at his mother, arms crossed and his lip pouting again.

"Mamă?" he asked quietly, and Mary looked down at him softly. "Why don't I get to perform tonight?" His mother gave Dick a small smile, though there was a brief flicker of fear in her sparkling eyes. Reaching down, she grabbed Dick's hand and led him over to a supply crate next to the performers' entrance to the circus tent, which in turn led outside.

"Trust me, păsărică," she spoke quietly as the rest of Dick's family made their final preparations.  _Little bird_. "You have no idea how much I wish you could perform like us. How much I wish you'd be able to fly like a bird. But..." she trailed off and bit her lip before speaking again. "But, our act tonight, it is periculos,"  _Dangerous_. "Some people say we are nebun,  _crazy_ , for attempting to do a trapeze act without a safety net, but we are trained to almost- _perfection_. But, there will also always be dangers with an act like this," she leaned her forehead against Dick's. "I want you to be _s_ _igur_ , micul meu Robin,"  _Safe._  

Despite still wanting desperately to perform with his parents, the youngest Grayson begrudgingly admitted that his mother  _did_ have a point. A year or so ago, at another circus' show in Europe, or more precisely, just outside of Paris, France, another trapeze act had attempted to execute the same type of acts that the Flying Graysons did. Needless to say, something went wrong, and the entire troupe died. Hopefully, it wasn't the same this time around. Circus-folk were superstitious, to say the least, and having a death happen during a show was considered bad luck.

Dick gave a small nod, and his mother smiled, before Mary stood up again, and practically shooed her son outside.

"Now, there is still a bit of time before our performance," she said, quietly clapping her hands together. "And, since we need some time to get ready, how about you go explore the grounds? I'm sure there are some things you didn't find the last time you played detective," Dick sighed but complied with his mother's wishes, and slipped out of the circus tent into the darkened Gotham night.

The circus had placed the Big Top in one of the city's larger parks, and all around the tent were the different trailers for the performers. Dick began to make his way towards his family's caravan, but when he got close he stopped. Because there, sitting on the steps to his family's circus trailer was a small girl, barely more than three years old, he figured, with blond hair tied up in two pigtails.

The girl was also crying and looked like she had been for a while. Walking forward slowly, so as not to scare the small child, Dick crouched on the ground and set one hand on the step beside her, making the girl look up at him. Her eyes were a blue not unlike his own, and the area around them was red, probably from her crying.

"Are you okay?" Dick whispered to the girl, and the toddler gave a small nod, sniffling a bit and wiping her nose with her sweater sleeve. "Are you lost?" the little girl shrugged.

"I...can't find my...sister," she whimpered, and Dick sighed. Though he didn't know what it was like to have a sibling, he knew what it was like to not know where other family members were. Once, when Haly's had a show in London, a five-year-old Dick had gotten separated from his family in Hyde Park, where the circus was being held, and he'd had to go up to an officer from Scotland Yard, and the woman had needed to call Jack Haly and tell him the tiny tumbler had been found.

"What's your name?" he asked the girl, and she sniffled again.

"L-Lauren," she whispered, and Dick gave a small smile before reaching down and picking up this Lauren girl.

"Well, Lauren," he said, and the little toddler clung to him like a baby koala. "We are going to walk around this fine circus until we find your sister, and then, I'll show you how to  _fly_ ," Dick wasn't normally a liar, but he wanted to make sure that the girl calmed down, if only the tiniest bit.

Lauren, her head still buried into Dick's shoulder, gave a little nod, and the youngest Grayson softly smiled as he and the toddler made their way through the circus grounds. There was still a good half-hour until Dick's family performed, so they still had a bit of time to find Lauren's sister before he was due back at the tent. He may not be performing tonight, but he still had to  _be there_.

After a few minutes of walking around, in which they  _still_ hadn't found Lauren's older sister, Dick, who was still carrying the toddler, paused in front of the trailer that held all of the circus' former show posters. The largest one was a poster of the Flying Graysons mid-routine, all of them soaring through the air, arms out, looking remarkably like a flock of brightly-colored birds. Pointing up at the poster, Lauren smiled.

"Is that you?" she asked giddily, and Dick nodded.

"Yep," he answered, nodding his head again towards the poster. "My family, we're called the Flying Graysons. We do this thing, called acrobatics, where we almost  _fly_ around above the circus," Lauren tilted her head to the side, and Dick inwardly chuckled at the confused look on the small girl's face.

"Acro...bat-tics?" she asked, and Dick smiled, shaking his head.

"No," he explained softly. "Acrobatics. It's a type of...sport, I guess, like gymnastics," Lauren's face suddenly lit up.

"My sister's in gymmynastics!" she exclaimed, and Dick gave a small laugh again at the girl's mispronunciation. Suddenly, as the two of them made their way back towards the circus tent, an unfamiliar voice, to Dick's ears anyway, reached them, and Lauren began to struggle in the Grayson's arms, a signal that she wanted to get down.

"Lauren? Lauren!" Turning around, Dick found himself face-to-face with a girl who looked to be about a year or so older than him, with tan skin and long, dark hair. Concluding, because of the toddler's struggles in his arms, that this must be Lauren's older sister, Dick set her down, only for the toddler to run to her sister's open arms, and the older girl wrapped the toddler up in a hug.

"Where have you  _been_?" Lauren's sister cried out, and Dick raised an eyebrow, because, from his point-of-view, it seemed like the older sister was the one who had lost the toddler. Nonetheless, he was glad they had been reunited and turned around to leave, but Lauren's sister stopped him in his tracks. "Wait!"

Dick paused as he felt a hand land on his shoulder, and turned around to meet the deep brown eyes of Lauren's older sister. He felt his face flush a bit as they stared at each other as the older girl tried to figure out what to say. When she finally did, it made Dick pause, when it shouldn't have.

"Thank you for finding her," she whispered, her eyes glistening a bit. "I don't know what I would've done without you," Dick shrugged once before he responded.

"What happened?" he asked finally, and the girl sighed.

"When we first got here, while my parents were buying the tickets, Lauren here," she gestured to the toddler in her arms. "Decided she wanted to play Batman and vanish into the shadows," Even though he was born in Europe, and therefore had his own "accent", Dick noticed that the girl had a certain accent herself, one different from the other people, very few as it were, in Gotham City. Needless to say, it made him curious.

"Where are you from?" he asked suddenly, and Lauren's sister stared at him, and Dick abruptly felt sheepish for being as blunt as he had. But, the girl didn't seem to mind all that much, because she answered Dick's question, anyway, shifting Lauren in her arms as the three of them made their way back towards the circus tent.

"I was born not far from here," she began. "In Metropolis. But, I was raised halfway across the country in Keystone City, Kansas," after a few more seconds in silence, she spoke again, glancing over at Dick. "You're not from around here either, are you?" Dick raised an eyebrow. This girl was smart.

"How did you know that?" he asked, and she smiled.

"Your accent," was her simple answer, before she gestured with her free hand around them at the various equipment used to make the circus go off without a hitch, so to speak. "And also, this is an  _international_ circus, so..." she trailed off, but Dick smiled.

"You're right. I was born in Romania," the girl smiled.

"Really?" she questioned, and Dick nodded. "Where?" Dick shrugged.

"It was in between shows," he answered. "At least, that's what my parents told me. 'In-between Bucharest and Brașov on the first day of December'. That was what my parents and Jack Haly said," The girl tilted her head.

"Jack Haly's the owner of the circus?" she asked, and Dick nodded before he suddenly remembered something, and slapped a hand against his forehead.

"La naiba," he grumbled softly in Romanian.  _Dang, it_. From the corner of his eye, Dick could see Lauren's sister staring at him, a bit confused, but he only waved a hand dismissively. He couldn't believe it, ten minutes the three of them had been walking around, and he hadn't thought to ask for the girl's name. Some gentleman he was. After another few seconds of berating himself, Dick turned to Lauren's sister, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Uh," he began, but she must have already known what he wanted to ask because she stuck her left hand out in between the two of them.

She couldn't use her right, because of Lauren, the adorable toddler that she was, who had fallen asleep on her sister's shoulder, restricting her arm movement.

"I'm Reese," she said simply, and Dick smiled at her, locking his left hand in hers with a firm handshake that, unbeknownst to either of them, would shape their story for years to come.

"I'm Richard," Dick answered. "But, everyone calls me Dick," Reese snickered, and Dick rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want," but, he was smiling too. The two of them, plus a sleeping Lauren, made their way back towards the tent, but before they could get there, Dick rammed into the back of a man who was standing outside, and he stumbled back. The man turned around, revealing a tall, black-haired with piercing eyes. While Dick was rubbing his head, Reese's mouth had dropped open.

"You're Bruce Wayne," she gasped, and the man chuckled.

"That I am," he answered, before turning towards Dick and setting a large hand on the boy's shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked softly, and Dick gave a small nod.

"I am," he answered, before biting his lip. "Sorry I ran into you," Bruce raised a hand and shook his head.

"It's no problem," he said simply. "What's your name, son?" Dick blinked for a few seconds before he answered.

"Uh, Richard," he stammered out, and the billionaire in front of the three children gave a smile.

"You're one of the Flying Graysons, aren't you?" he asked, and Dick's eyes widened as Reese raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know that?" Dick questioned, and Bruce chuckled before gesturing towards him.

"Your costume," was the simple response, and Dick glanced down at himself, before realizing he was wearing his performance attire, even if he wasn't going to be in the act tonight himself. Dick gave a small, sheepish chuckle before a thick British accent sounded from off to Dick's left, and all of them turned to see an older man dressed primly in a sharp black suit walking towards them.

"Master Bruce, I daresay we best be getting to our seats now, shall we?" Bruce sighed, and a soft smile appeared on his face as he nodded towards the man.

"Of course, Alfred," he said, before turning to Dick, Reese, and a still-sleeping Lauren. "It appears I must now take my leave," he told them. "Good luck tonight," Dick wanted to correct him, to say he wasn't performing, but Bruce was gone before he was able to open his mouth. After a few more seconds of silence, he heard Reese hiss a breath out between her teeth, and Dick glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"I think Lauren and I should probably go find our parents, too," she said and shifted Lauren in her arms so she was held better. "My mom will probably want to have Lauren sleep in the car, just so she doesn't get disturbed by all the cheering,"

"Oh," Dick said simply, looking towards the ground for a second before he looked back towards Reese and gave a small smile. "I'll see you later?" Reese nodded her head, and it sort of reminded Dick of one of those bobbly-head dolls you could get at tourist attractions. He had one of Batman in his family's trailer.

"Totally," Reese answered. "Can I meet up with you after the show?" Dick nodded, and this time  _he_ was the bobbly-head.

"Sure! Then you can meet my parents," Reese gave another nod before she and a  _still-sleeping_ Lauren made their leave, slipping through the open flap of the circus tent to go off and find their parents. Dick stared after them, and once again didn't notice the dark figure coming up behind him until it was too late.

John squeezed his cousins sides again, and once again Dick let out a squeak, whipping around, and throwing his foot out, kicking his older cousin straight in the crotch.  John collapsed to the ground, and Dick winced. he was only a little bit sorry, mainly because he hadn't meant to react like that, it was just a reflex. But, his cousin  _also_ should've known not to sneak up on Dick again, after what happened earlier.

"Fiul unei cățea, Dick," John wheezed from his spot on the ground.  _Son of a bitch_. "I didn't mean to scare you  _that_ bad," Dick gave a small chuckle before he extended a hand and helped pull his cousin to his feet so they were both standing upright.

"Sorry," the nine-year-old said sheepishly, before hopping up to look over John's shoulder at the circus tent. "Is it time to go?" he asked, and John nodded, jerking a single thumb over his shoulder.

"Da," he said simply.  _Yes_. "Your mom sent me out here to tell you it's almost time for us to go on," Dick nodded waving a hand.

"Mergeți înainte," he spoke.  _You go on ahead,_ " Voi fi acolo puțin,"  _I'll be there in a bit_. John looked increasingly skeptical, but he refrained from saying anything else and instead turned around to head back into the tent. True to his word, Dick stood out in the open for a few more seconds before he turned around to follow his cousin. As he was passing by one of the darkened trailers, Dick caught the sound of voices, one he recognized to be Jack's, while the other was rough, gravelly, and unfamiliar.

"I don't  _care_ that this is your last show in Gotham,  _Jack_ ," the unfamiliar voice growled out, and despite every bone and fiber in his body saying this was a bad idea, Dick crept closer to where the voices were originating. "Unless you want an  _accident_ to happen to one of your performers tonight, then you'll  _give me my money_ ," Peeking his head around the corner of a trailer, Dick saw the familiar robust form of Jack Haly clad in his ringmaster garb, but the other figure, the figure of a man, he didn't recognize him.

"You harm  _anyone_ in my circus, Zucco, you'll regret it," Jack responded angrily, pointing a finger towards the other man, whose name was Zucco before he took his top hat and set it angrily on top of his head. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a show to finish," As Jack began to make his way towards Dick, the youngest Grayson whipped around the side of the trailer and pressed his back to the wall, trying to control his breathing so as not to alert the two men that they had an eavesdropper. Luckily, Jack didn't seem to notice the boy who was standing right behind him, trying not to give away his hiding place.

Zucco didn't notice him either, instead, the man walked over to another one Dick hadn't noticed before, who was standing right next to the circus tent's flap, and spoke to him. Dick couldn't hear what the two men were saying, and he couldn't make out the second man's features. Dick  _also_ didn't want to risk the two men seeing him by moving closer. Finally, the second man left, and, after a few seconds, Zucco did as well. Once he was gone, Dick scampered into the tent, where he almost ran right into his mother, who was coming outside to look for him at that very moment.

"Where have you  _been_?" Mary gasped out, running her hands up and down Dick's arms as if she was checking him for injuries. "Our act starts in five minutes!" Dick bit his lip before he turned towards his mother, one of the most important people in his entire life.

"Nu vreau să o faci, Mamă," he said quietly.  _I don't want you to perform, Mom_. Mary tilted her head.

"Why ever not, micul meu Robin?" she asked, and Dick sighed, thinking back to the conversation between Jack and the man called Zucco.

"I overheard Jack talking to-" Haly himself suddenly rounded the corner into the tent, looking remarkably well put-together considering the conversation he just had.

"Graysons! You're on in two minutes! Get up that ladder!" Mary turned her head towards Dick again and pressed her lips against his forehead before she stood up.

"I'm sure whatever you heard was nothing," she said softly. "Now, I want you to get all those bad and depressing thoughts out of your head," she lightly flicked the top of Dick's head with her fingernail. "And focus on the show. I have a feeling that it will be a night to remember for _years_ ," Despite everything that had happened in the past five minutes, Dick found himself smiling at his mother before Mary kissed his forehead again.

"Are you ready?" she asked, and Dick nodded again, and they swiftly climbed up the ladder to the trapezes, which looked down into the circus ring as Jack Haly made his introduction.

"How are you liking the show, ladies and gentlemen?" he cried out loudly, only to be met with raucous cheering. After a few seconds, it quieted, and Jack continued. "Well, the show isn't done yet! I have one final act for you tonight, and it is the most daring trapeze act  _any_ of you have ever seen, I can assure you of that, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome...the Flying Graysons!" The audience began to cheer again as John, Dick's father, and Mary flew threw the air, tucking and rolling before grabbing onto the bar again.

From his vantage point, Dick was able to see the whole Big Top, and just off to his right he saw Reese, sitting with who he assumed to be her father. He gave a small wave, and Reese waved back. Another thing Dick noticed, was a man standing over by the other pole that led up to the trapeze, where Aunt Karla, Uncle Rick, and Cousin John had begun their part of the routine. He seemed to be messing with the ropes, but that couldn't be right. if someone messed with the trapeze ropes, the bar could fail, and it would make the performers fall...

Catching Reese's eye, since she was looking up at him, Dick jerked his head towards the man at the ropes, and Reese turned her head that way just as mary landed on the platform again. Dick tugged on his mother's costume, making her look down on him.

"Există un om înfricoșător...cu frânghiile," he told her quietly in Romanian, eyes wide.  _There's a scary man...with the ropes_. But, Mary didn't seem to hear him over the audience's cheers, because she only smiled and got ready to swing across again. Looking down, Dick saw that the man was now walking away from the pole, but when Dick glanced towards Reese, her eyes were wide with... _fear_? As the rest of Dick's family members started to swing across again, Dick saw Reese stand up from her chair, one hand flung out.

" _Wait_!" she cried, but it was too late. Everything began to move in slow motion, or at least, it seemed that way to Dick. One moment, his parents, aunt, uncle, and cousin were flying through the air, having the time of their lives. Next, just as Mary was about to grab onto her trapeze bar, the rope snapped, and she began the long, long descent down towards the floor of the circus tent.

The audience let out gasps and screams, but what were they going to do? One by one, every one of the Flying Graysons fell to the ground. One by one, every one of the Flying Graysons fell to their deaths. Except for Dick. The youngest Grayson, just four months past his ninth birthday, fell to his knees on the platform high above the floor. High above the still-warm bodies of his mother, his father, his aunt, his uncle,  _and_ his cousin.

" _No!_ " the scream ripped itself from the very back of Dick's throat, and it was a sound he would probably only make once or twice more in his entire life. Scrambling, almost falling down the ladder, Dick tried to run towards his parents, but Jack held the boy back.

"Don't look, Dick," the ringmaster said quietly, gently turning around so the nine-year-old wouldn't see. "There isn't anything you can do for them now," Dick buried his face into the front of Jack's jacket, sobbing until it hurt to breathe.

"I-I could've  _saved_ them," he whimpered, clenching parts of the ringmaster's coat in his fists. "I could've saved them," his voice quieted down to nothing more than a light whisper, and his knees simply...gave out, from underneath him, and his shoulders shook from sobs as they ravaged his entire body.

There was the sound of footsteps from behind them and a large hand placed itself on the crying boy's shoulder. Still sniffling, Dick tilted his head up, only to meet the piercing eyes of Bruce Wayne. The man gave a soft smile before he sat down next to Dick, not even caring if he got his expensive designer suit dirty. After a few minutes, he spoke.

"I lost my parents, too, you know," his voice was quiet, barely more than a whisper, but it made Dick look up at him. After a second's pause, Bruce continued. "I was about your age, too," he added, his gaze off in the distance as if reliving the memory. "We had just come from the opera, one of my mother's favorite places. It was in Crime Alley when the man came..." the billionaire trailed off, and Dick glanced up at him.

"The man?" he echoed, and Bruce smiled down at him.

"So, you  _were_ listening?" he asked, a bit jokingly, and Dick gave a small nod. After a moment, Bruce continued. "The man's name was Joe Chill. He was hired by a bank robber named Lew Moxon who, almost thirty years ago now, had vowed revenge on my father because he had humiliated him," Bruce paused again before he turned towards Dick. "Your family's deaths were no accident, Dick. I promise, that we are going to find out who killed them, and he will be brought to justice,"

Despite Bruce's kind words, Dick now had his agenda for apprehending the man, woman, men, or women, who had murdered his entire family in cold blood, and it was quite different from Bruce's. Justice was one way to go about it, he supposed, but Dick didn't just want justice. He wanted the man who had murdered them to  _suffer_ because of what he had done.

And Dick was going to do whatever it took to accomplish his goal. As for when he would see Reese again, it would be another six years before the two saw each other again, at a certain museum in Metropolis, when Reese would arrive as a guest for an Independence Day Celebration, after being invited by a certain Atlantean. And Dick? Well, he'd think she was _familiar_ , but he wouldn't be able to remember where from...

**Watchtower; April 30, 2013, 14:00 EST**

_Present Day_

Nightwing's eyes flew open, and he sat up with a gasp, only for both Superboy and Aqualad to push him back down onto the bed. Looking around, Dick realized that he was no longer in the circus where his parents had been brutally murdered by Tony Zucco, an associate of Sal Maroni.

No, now he was in the League's orbiting headquarters, the Watchtower, and Reese was nowhere to be found. His eyes flicked around wildly, and he then realized that he didn't have his mask on. Dick also didn't have his Nightwing suit on, instead, he was dressed in a hospital gown that wouldn't be flattering on  _anybody_.

"Where's Reese?" he gasped out, practically ripping the oxygen tube from his nose and looking towards Conner. "SB, where is she?"

"She's okay if that's what you were wondering," the CADMUS clone answered, but Dick narrowed his eyes because that didn't answer his question. Instead of making Dick worry more than he already was, Kaldur spoke up.

"She's with Batman," he said simply. "They're at the holo-computers, trying to track down Bane," Dick's eyes widened, and he tried to get up, but Conner stopped him.

"Don't try and move, Dick," Superboy said quietly, and Kaldur nodded. 

"You had six broken ribs and a bruised spleen," the Atlantean said calmly. "One bone shard almost punctured a lung. You are quite lucky to be alive," Dick noticed a pile of clothing sitting on a nearby chair, and he tried to grab it, but once again, Kaldur placed a cool hand on his arm to stop him.

"Nightwing, you've been unconscious for the past five days," Superboy added, pushing Dick's shoulder back down. "You need to take it easy," After hearing Conner's words, Dick's eyes widened, and despite his sort-of weakened state, he grabbed onto the front of Superboy's shirt, pulling him down until they were nose-to-nose.

"Five days?" he echoed, eyes narrowed. "You're telling me I've been in a coma for the past _week_?" Conner gave a slow nod, and Dick abruptly let go of his shirt, flopping back down onto the med bay's bed and groaning as he ran his hands over his face. "What did I miss?" he asked, and Conner and Kaldur glanced at each other.

"Aside from your girlfriend now having silver eyes and not sleeping for the past week-and-a-half?" Conner reiterated, before shrugging. "Nothing much," Dick gave a nod, before what Conner had said processed in his mind and he quickly sat up again.

"Wait," he said, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Reese has _silver eyes_?" Once again, a swift glance passed between Conner's blue eyes and Kaldur's light green ones, before they both turned to look at him, with a stare that began to make Nightwing a bit uncomfortable.

"Uh," Conner began. "Maybe we should just let her tell you that herself," Swiftly turning on their heels, both of Dick's friends left the med bay with Dick staring after them a confused look on his face. As soon as they were gone, Nightwing stood up, hissing a bit in pain as the bandages that were wrapped around his ribcage strained. _Hmm, guess they were right about the broken ribs,_ Dick thought as he slowly pulled on the pair of pants that were in the pile of clothes on the chair. Luckily, when they had put the hospital gown on him, they'd left his underwear on.

Swiftly tossing the annoying, not to mention  _flimsy_ , hospital gown onto the bed behind him, Dick picked up the sweatshirt that was also laying on the chair, but before he was able to, a pair of arms suddenly wrapped themselves around his waist, so abruptly that Dick dropped the sweatshirt on the floor. 

Of course, he recognized the feeling of Reese's arms around him. It was one of his favorite feelings in the world. Twisting around, though it made his ribs hurt a little, Dick turned so he was able to hug Reese as well. After a few seconds. Silverbird whispered something, so quiet Nightwing had to strain his hearing to catch it.

"I know how you feel now," she breathed, burying her head in Dick's chest and tightening her hold a bit, though she _was_ careful not to hurt him any more than he already was. "I know how you feel now, every time I get hurt," she tilted her head up to meet Dick's eyes, and Nightwing was shocked to see that Conner and Kaldur were right, they  _were_ silver. Two deep glistening pools of what looked like liquid mercury, shining with unshed tears, deep purple bags underneath. "I was so  _scared_ , Bluebird," Reese whispered, leaning up so her forehead pressed against Dick's. "I was so scared that you wouldn't wake up,"

"Shh," Nightwing whispered, his lips feathering against Reese's skin. "You don't need to worry about me anymore, Rhysalin. I'm okay," Reese sniffled a bit, tears beginning to leak out of her eyes, and Dick quickly kissed them away, his lips suddenly tasting like salt.

"I don't want to go through that," Reese whispered, leaning even closer than she already had been. " _Ever_ again,"

"And you won't have to," Dick whispered back, reaching up and weaving his fingers through Reese's dark hair, which was loose from her usual french braid. "I promise," Gently, he pressed his lips to Reese's, trying to put  _as much_ of the promise into it as he could. After a few seconds, he slowly pulled away and watched as Reese's eyes fluttered open, the silver revealing itself to Dick once again. Silverbird sighed, looking up at Nightwing through her eyelashes.

"Bruce'll want to talk to you," she said. "He was worried about you too," Dick raised an eyebrow, his own eyes flicking to the bags that still hung underneath Reese's own.

"Was he like you?" he asked, and Reese glanced up at him, confused before he elaborated. "Not getting any sleep the entire time I was unconscious?" Suddenly embarrassed, Reese ducked her head down so it was hidden in Dick's shoulder, and Nightwing chuckled a bit before he pulled back so she would look at him. "You know, I also remembered some things while I was under," Reese raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" she asked. "Like what?" Again, Dick ducked his head down so he was able to kiss her, and whispered the words he needed to say against her lips.

"Like the fact that you were there...that night," Even though he couldn't see her, because his eyes were closed, Dick knew that what he had said caused Reese's eyes to widen almost comically. "The night my parents died. You and Lauren, you were there," He leaned back, and when he looked at her, Reese's eyes were tearing up again.

"You remember?" she whispered, and Dick nodded, beginning to feather kisses all over Reese's face.

"Of course I do, comoară," he whispered, the Romani filtering through at the last second. It meant  _gem_ or  _love_. "Why didn't you say anything before?" Reese shrugged.

"I figured you probably would've been mad at me for not contacting you after everything happened. My parents, sly sons of bitches that they are, became overbearing when we got back from Gotham. They wouldn't even let me call my friends from  _school_ , much less some boy I met at the circus,"

"Rhysalin..." Dick whispered, his voice filtering right into Reese's ear, his lips brushing the outside of it. "I could never be mad at you. Not for something like that," Reese gave a small smile, but Dick could see that she still had something on her mind. "What is it?" he asked, and she sighed.

"It seems there was  _one more_ side-effect from my parents' S.T.A.R Labs experiments," she began, and Dick's eyes flicked towards hers.

"Your eyes?" he asked, and Reese glanced up at him, her gaze questioning.

"How did you-" she began, but Nightwing only chuckled.

"Argent, Conner, and Kaldur told me when I woke up. They seemed worried about you. Was something wrong?" Reese shook her head quickly.

"No, it just seems like, whenever we think the extent of whatever my parents did to me is done, something even worse pops up," she tilted her head up to meet Dick's eyes, and Nightwing could practically feel the fear radiating from them. "Bluebird, what if it never stops?" Dick sighed once, before he wrapped his girlfriend up in his arms again, curling Reese's head into the crook of his neck.

"If I can promise you one thing, Rhysalin I can promise you this," he leaned his forehead against hers, trying to project his confidence into her. He was no telepath, but you never knew what might work. "We  _will_ figure out what it is exactly what your parents did to you. We  _will_ put the Sporelli's,  _all of them_ , behind bars. And, we  _will_ catch Kallik and Luke and stop this League of Shadows problem before it gets any worse.  _That_ , I can promise you," Dick pressed his lips to Reese's forehead, just as Conner entered the room again.

"Batman wants to speak to the two of you," Superboy said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "It sounded pretty urgent," Dick and Reese exchanged a glance before Nightwing swiftly pulled on the sweatshirt he was going to put on earlier before Reese had walked into the med bay.

When they reached the main room, Batman stood in front of the holo-computers, a grim scowl on his face, despite the good news that Nightwing wasn't dead. On one screen was Bane's criminal profile, with his long,  _long_ rap sheet. On the other screen was Guiliano Sporelli, his smug smirk making Dick's lip curl in disgust. Despite most of the people on the Watchtower knowing his secret identity, Nightwing had slipped on his ever-present opaque shades and raised an eyebrow when he and Silverbird reached Bruce.

"What's going on?" Dick asked, and Batman turned around, typing a few things on the holo-keyboard, making what looked like a security feed pop up. It looked to be the Gotham Docks, and a large ship was docked in the harbor. Instead of speaking, Bruce let the feed play, and Nightwing's hold tightened on Reese's waist when he saw Bane  _and_ Guiliano Sporelli conversing next to the gangplank. 

"What _is_ this?" Reese reworded Dick's question from just a few seconds earlier, and Bruce sighed, swiping away the video feed and zooming in on each of the criminals' profiles.

"It seems that Bane, whom we've dealt with before, and Guiliano Sporelli, who is a new adversary, have joined forces to make the crime family's sex trafficking more efficient," The Team, who by now had gathered around the holo-computers as Batman gave his explanation, now had their mouths almost to the floor in shock.

" _Sex Trafficking_?" Nightwing echoed, his voice full of venom, and Bruce gave a small nod.

"It also seems that Sporelli has fully taken on the role of a Gotham Rogue, so to speak, by taking on the name Frate Nero, or the Black Friar, named after an old Italian folktale," Dick's eyes by now had narrowed into dangerous slits behind his sunglasses, and his rage at Sporelli was almost palpable.

"That drăguț mincinos," Dick swore colorfully in Romanian, beginning to pace around.  _That f-ing liar_. "I  _knew_ we shouldn't have believed him!"

"Nightwing!" Batman snapped, making him pause. "Calm down. We don't know yet what exactly Bane and Frate Nero are planning, so, for now, we will remain vigilant. We don't know how dangerous Sporelli can be yet," Reese scoffed derisively, crossing her arms over her chest.

"In folklore, the Black Friar is a  _joke_. The protagonist is a  _fool_ who gets scared by this old man while staying at a monastery. If he wanted to instill fear in either  _us_ or any other villain, he picked the  _wrong_ story," Even now, Guiliano Sporelli kept proving to Dick time and time again that he was a goddamn _idiot_.

If vigilance was what Batman wanted to apprehend Bane and Sporelli, since Dick was right-out _refusing_ to use the guy's "Rogue name", then vigilance, from a  _vigilante's_ point-of-view, was what he was going to get. 

Nightwing vs. the Frate Nero...who would win? But, seriously, was that even a question? Dick Grayson was about to  _wipe the floor_ with Guiliano Sporelli, and you know what? He wouldn't even care if the mafia son got a little...seriously maimed in the process. The douchebag deserved it.

"You all have your next assignments," Bruce said finally. "Good luck," As Batman finished the briefing, Dick felt his lip curl up in a smirk as the Team dispersed, and he and Reese headed towards the Zeta tube to go back to Gotham. Nightwing was practically giddy with the adrenaline that had begun to rush through his veins. The idea of  _finally_ getting to put Sporelli behind bars was enough to temporarily make Dick forget about his extensive injuries. 

Temporarily, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is where over nine hours of straight writing brought me...


End file.
